
The Plastic Age
by Percy Marks
'The Plastic Age' Summary
Marks was an English instructor at Brown University at the time of publication. Previously he taught at Dartmouth College and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Brown's administration took offense at the book, which they perceived to be a barely disguised version of Brown, and Marks's teaching contract was not renewed. The Plastic Age provides a composite image of 1920s campus life with many references to campus traditions at Dartmouth and Brown including bonfires, beanies, and fraternity rushing. The novel is notable for its depiction of students attending a film, a lightly fictionalized representation of the Nugget Theater in Hanover, NH which had opened in 1916. Marks and his book remained popular on college campuses for several years after the book's publication. Students—including humorist S. J. Perelman—protested his release and a satire of the book, titled, "The Plastered Age," by E.Z. Mark, was produced on campus; but to no avail. Marks left academia for many years and devoted his time to writing books.
In 1928, under the title Red Lips, the novel was again adapted into a film. This remake starred Charles "Buddy" Rogers, who had just co-starred with Clara Bow in a different film, Wings, the previous year.
The Plastic Age was reprinted in 1980, in a series subtitled "Lost American Fiction," from Southern Illinois University Press and continues to be available in book form from other sources.
Book Details
Language
EnglishOriginal Language
EnglishPublished In
1924Authors
Percy Marks
United States
Percy Marks was an American author and college English instructor best known for his best selling 1924 novel, The Plastic Age. Marks was born in Covelo, California in 1891 to Henry and Sarah Lando Ma...
Books by Percy MarksDownload eBooks
Listen/Download Audiobook
- Select Speed
Related books

Paul and Virginia by Jacques-Henri Bernardin de Saint-Pierre
Paul and Virginia was first published in 1787. The novel's title characters are very good friends since birth who fall in love, but sadly die when the...

Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens
Nicholas Nickleby follows the titular character, a young man thrust into poverty after his father's death. Forced to rely on his wealthy uncle, he is...

The Price of Love by Arnold Bennett
Rachel Louise Fleckring works for the elderly Mrs Maldon, and although with the woman for only a short time, she is taken into the heart of the family...

These Twain by Arnold Bennett
It chronicles the married life of Edwin and Hilda. Edwin, released from the controlling influence of his father, finds himself free to run his busines...

siste viking by Johan Bojer
This novel paints a vivid picture of life in the early 20th century in Norway, specifically during the challenging Lofoten fishing season. It follows...

Gargantua and Pantagruel, Book III by Francois Rabelais
The Life of Gargantua and of Pantagruel is a pentalogy of novels written in the 16th century by François Rabelais,a telling the adventures of two gian...

Maîtres sonneurs by George Sand
Le roman est paru dans Le Constitutionnel en juin et juillet 1853. Il raconte la vie des « cornemuseux » à la fin du XVIIIe siècle, dans le Berry et l...

The Matador of the Five Towns and Other Stories by Arnold Bennett
Twenty-two short stories by Arnold Bennett, mainly set in the 'Five Towns', Bennett's name for the pottery manufacturing towns of the English midlands...

Ball and the Cross by Gilbert K. Chesterton
The Ball and the Cross is G. K. Chesterton's third novel. In the introduction Martin Gardner notes that it is a "mixture of fantasy, farce and theolog...

A Sicilian Romance by Ann Radcliffe
The Marquis Mazzini's daughters, Emilia and Julia, are beautiful and accomplished young ladies. Julia quickly falls in love with the young and handsom...
Reviews for The Plastic Age
No reviews posted or approved, yet...