Tarkington’s The Image of Josephine, one of his last published works, gets the rare read and review at Puss Reboots.  Here’s an excerpt of the full review:

Who is Josephine? The most intimate portrait we get of her comes in the four chapters (34 pages) when she’s an a typical American teenage girl, though one of means who is probably oblivious of the Great Depression. We learn that she will be taking over as director of her grandfather’s fledgling art museum and for reasons never given she is the best choice for the job.

The remainder of the book we never get as close to her again.  … Instead of seeing the museum through Josephine’s eyes, we see it and her through a soldier and distant cousin, Bailey Fount. … Josephine may be the title character but Bailey is the driving force of the book. I’ve read a number of novels written during WWII but Bailey is the first character I’ve come across who comes across as a realistic and broken individual. He’s not just a prop for Uncle Sam.

If you can find a copy of this book, read it. It’s one of the best I’ve read this year.