''Peter: A Novel Of Which He Is Not The Hero'' is a novel published in 1908 by Francis Hopkinson Smith, which was the sixth best selling book in the United States in 1908, and ninth best-selling book of 1909. Hackett, Alice Payne
Seventy Years of Best Sellers 1895-1965
(1967) (the lists for 1895-1912 in this volume are derived from the lists published in ''

The Bookman (New York) ''The Bookman'' was a literary journal established in 1895 by Dodd, Mead and Company. It drew its name from the phrase, "I am a book-man," by James Russell Lowell. The phrase, without the hyphen, regularly appeared on the cover and title page o ...

'') It sold in excess of 100,000 copies.(9 January 2009)
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'' New York Tribune'' (stating over 100,000 copies sold with the following editions: 1 st (Aug. 29, 1908); 2nd (Sept. 24); 3rd (Nov. 9); 4th (Dec. 3); 5th (Dec. 11); 6th (Dec. 17); 7th (Dec 23); 8th (Jan 5, 1909))

Plot

The book is set in New York City, but the New York of a few decades prior to 1908 when the book was released. Peter Grayson is an aging banker of the old school; an upstanding and cultured gentleman, and not prone to engage in speculation. Peter also influences the younger generation around him, including a young man who comes to New York to work in the financial world.

Reception

As Smith was a well-known and popular American author of his day, the book was widely reviewed, with mixed to positive reviews. For example, H.L. Mencken wrote "It is a delightful world that Mr. Smith inhabits--a world made up of loyalty, true love and simple faith. ... there is not much plot in the book, but what there is is not without its grip." Mencken, Henry L.br>The Good, The Bad and the Best Sellers
''

The Smart Set ''The Smart Set'' was an American literary magazine, founded by Colonel William d'Alton Mann and published from March 1900 to June 1930. Its headquarters was in New York City. During its Jazz Age heyday under the editorship of H. L. Mencken and ...

'', pp. 358-59 (Vol. 26, No. 3, November 1908) Middleton, George
F. Hopkinson Smith's "Peter" (book review)
''

'' (October 1908), p. 153A Guide to the New Books
''The Bohemian Magazine'', Vol. XV, No. 5 (November 1908), p. 714Doty, Madeline
Some Fiction
''Pearson's Magazine'' (US), p. 563 (Vol. XX, No. 5, November 1908)Brigham, Johnson
The Banker In Literature
pp. 235-38 (1910)(19 September 1908)
By Hopkinson Smith (book review)
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

''(29 August 1908)
Recent Fiction by H. Hopkinson Smith and Others
'' New York Tribune''Recent Fiction and the Critics
''

Current Literature ''Current Literature'' is an American magazine published in New York City from 1888 to 1925. Its first owner and editor, Frederick Somers, debuted the periodical in July 1888. Editors and contributors included: George W. Cable, Bliss Carman, ...

'', Vol. XLV, No. 5, p. 580-81 (November 1908) Released in late August 1908 with illustrations by Arthur I. Keller, the book soon made it onto best seller lists, becoming the sixth-best selling book of 1908 and ninth-best of 1909. It sold particularly well in December 1908, based on the fact that it went through four printings that month alone. The novel was never adapted to the stage or film.

References

{{reflist, 2

External links

1912 edition
via Google Books. 1908 American novels Novels set in New York City Novels by Francis Hopkinson Smith