The Guarded Heights

About the book

The collapse of his father's livery business leaves George Morton dependent on employment at the wealthy Planter family's estate. He resents becoming a servant, but the chance to accompany Sylvia Planter on her rides changes the job's meaning. Her assumption that he belongs at a distance from her awakens an ambition sharpened by desire and humiliation. Camp follows George beyond Oakmont through Princeton and the competitive marketplace, widening the question from a single unequal relationship to the making of social power. Physical confidence alone cannot secure admission to the world he wants. The novel asks what he must learn, conceal, or compromise in attempting that ascent, and whether possessing the outward signs of success will answer the grievance that first drove him.

• Class and ambition
• Desire and entitlement
• The cost of advancement

Why read it

George's skill with horses gives him genuine competence while leaving him painfully exposed to distinctions that skill cannot erase.

English Doubleday, Page edition of 1921