David Lockwin, The People's Idol

Chicago society treats Esther Wandrell's choice of a husband as a matter of money, influence and political advantage. David Lockwin's affection for the little boy he has adopted brings a more personal concern into that world. At a party on Prairie Avenue, his conversation with Esther leads to a proposal, while his rivalry with George Harpwood links courtship to the struggle for public standing. John McGovern places this family story among wealthy households, doctors, party workers and newspaper editors.

Pressure to stand for Congress draws Lockwin into a campaign supported by the city's political machine. The novel moves between domestic feeling and public excitement, including the newspaper stir around a lake shipwreck. Its closely observed conversations reveal how friends and neighbors turn private decisions into evidence of ambition. Readers interested in American city life can find a portrait of affection entangled with reputation and the machinery of elections.