In the 1800s, the American South was a highly stratified society in which different classes rarely intermingled. By the early twentieth century, the rise of a new class of nouveau riche titans of industry began to change that. It is against this backdrop of transition that Ellen Glasgow sets her novel The Romance of a Plain Man. The story follows poor but honorable Ben Starr as he works his way up the socioeconomic ladder in pursuit of the daughter of an aristocratic family.
In the 1800s, the American South was a highly stratified society in which different classes rarely intermingled. By the early twentieth century, the rise of a new class of nouveau riche titans of industry began to change that. It is against this backdrop of transition that Ellen Glasgow sets her novel The Romance of a Plain Man. The story follows poor but honorable Ben Starr as he works his way up the socioeconomic ladder in pursuit of the daughter of an aristocratic family.