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Teeftallow
Teeftallow
by Pulitzer Prize-winning author T. S. Stribling is a brilliantly layered, darkly comic portrait of a small Tennessee town on the cusp of transformation. Set during a moment of profound change—just as the railroad begins to weave its way through the rural South—this vivid novel captures the chaos, contradictions, and culture clashes of a community stumbling into modernity.
Told with sharp wit and satirical precision, Teeftallow introduces a cast of unforgettable fiercely puritanical about sex yet quietly corrupt in their dealings; suspicious of educated townsfolk but open-hearted toward hungry strangers; charitable one moment, and complicit in violence the next. The town tolerates lynching and the vigilante justice of the “whitecaps,” even as it clings to traditional Southern manners and Christian piety. These moral contradictions are neither ignored nor moralized—they simply are, woven into the fabric of a place grappling with identity, power, and progress.
The titular estate, Teeftallow, stands as a decaying monument to the Old South’s fading grandeur—haunted not by ghosts, but by the values and injustices of generations. Stribling’s storytelling balances biting satire with genuine empathy, portraying a society that is both grotesque and deeply human. His prose is at once regional and universal, revealing the comic and tragic absurdities of people caught in the current of change.
Originally published in 1926 to critical acclaim and commercial success, Teeftallow was later adapted by Stribling into the 1928 Broadway play The Rope, further cementing its place in American literary and theatrical history.
Teeftallow remains a landmark of Southern Gothic fiction—equal parts humorous and harrowing, absurd and insightful—offering readers a richly textured lens into a time and place where the past refused to let go.
Told with sharp wit and satirical precision, Teeftallow introduces a cast of unforgettable fiercely puritanical about sex yet quietly corrupt in their dealings; suspicious of educated townsfolk but open-hearted toward hungry strangers; charitable one moment, and complicit in violence the next. The town tolerates lynching and the vigilante justice of the “whitecaps,” even as it clings to traditional Southern manners and Christian piety. These moral contradictions are neither ignored nor moralized—they simply are, woven into the fabric of a place grappling with identity, power, and progress.
The titular estate, Teeftallow, stands as a decaying monument to the Old South’s fading grandeur—haunted not by ghosts, but by the values and injustices of generations. Stribling’s storytelling balances biting satire with genuine empathy, portraying a society that is both grotesque and deeply human. His prose is at once regional and universal, revealing the comic and tragic absurdities of people caught in the current of change.
Originally published in 1926 to critical acclaim and commercial success, Teeftallow was later adapted by Stribling into the 1928 Broadway play The Rope, further cementing its place in American literary and theatrical history.
Teeftallow remains a landmark of Southern Gothic fiction—equal parts humorous and harrowing, absurd and insightful—offering readers a richly textured lens into a time and place where the past refused to let go.
363 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1926
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About the author
T.S. Stribling
47 books25 followersThomas Sigismun Stribling was a staff writer for "Saturday Evening Post" and a lawyer. He published under the name T.S. Stribling. In the 1920's and 1930's, T. S. was America's foremost author. His most notable works were "Birthright," "Teeftfollow," "Backwater," "The Forge" and "The Unfinished Cathedral". He won the Pulitzer Prize for his book, "The Store" in 1933.
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October 10, 2015
What a wonderful novel of place and period!
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