Imperturbe

by Elliot Paul

Mr. Paul takes the title for his book from Walt Whitman -- "Me Imperturbe, standing at ease in nature . . . O to be self-balanced for contingencies! to confront night, storms, hunger, ridicule, accidents, rebuffs, as the trees and animals do." Lester Davis, whose growth and development for fifteen years forms the subject of the novel, envies all men, plants and animals who seem to have a plan of life. In his attempt to find one which would satisfy him, various influences sway him.

There is his life on the prairies of the Lower Yellowstone and in the mountains of Wyoming where he finds rare friendship and spiritual aid in Oscar Nelson, a tramp and a failure. From there he is jerked back to respectability and conformity by his early training and his brother Charles, a good citizen and loving husband. but his natural inclinations and curiosity about life keep him in continual restlessness. More and more, as his individuality expands and is strengthened, experience seems to Lester to have its own sufficient reward, and when he finds "his occupation, poverty, foibles, crimes, less important than he thought, then, at last, he takes the initial step towards peace of mind.

313 pages, Hardcover

Published April 1, 1924

About the author

Elliot Harold Paul was an American journalist and writer.

See also Brett Rutledge.