The Poorhouse Fair (Cyclopedia of Literary Places)
At a glance:
- Author: John Updike
- First Published: 1959
- Type of Work: Novel
- Type of Plot: Social satire
- Time of Work: Mid-twentieth century
- Genres: Long fiction, Satire
- Subjects: 1970’s, North America or North Americans, Northeast, U.S., United States or Americans, Social reform, 1980’s, New Jersey, Old age or elderly people, Retirement, Elderly abuse
- Locales: New Jersey
Places Discussed
Diamond County Home for the Aged. Home for elderly people in which the novel is primarily set. A converted mansion that once belonged to a prominent member of the jurisdiction (the local term for county), it has resident rooms, a passageway, and four acres of land that constitute the literal world (or “constricted community”) of its residents. John Updike placed it in New Jersey to avoid a too-specific autobiographical equivalence to the Pennsylvania community on which the community is based, and also because his father’s family was from Trenton, New...
[The entire page is 896 words long]
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