Joan and Co.

About the book

Joan Fairburne's social debut leaves her dissatisfied with the pleasures and prospects that surround her, including the attentions of wealthy Dicky Burnett. An accident brings Devons, a young inventor, into her household and exposes her to a life organized around effort, uncertainty, and a hoped-for breakthrough. His process for finishing leather appears technically promising, but finding money to challenge an established business proves another matter. Joan's interest turns toward the practical difficulties that have defeated his expectations. Bartlett joins romance to a business story in which an invention's value does not guarantee its adoption. The contrast between inherited comfort and hard-won opportunity gives the developing partnership its stakes, while forcing several characters to reconsider what useful work might mean.

• Innovation and enterprise
• Privilege and purpose
• Romance and partnership

Why read it

The leather process supplies a concrete commercial challenge through which Joan's desire for a more purposeful life can develop.

English Houghton Mifflin text with the 1919 copyright