Among only three other novelists to have won the Pulitzer Prize more than once, Tarkington was one of the greatest authors of the 1910s and 1920s who helped usher in Indiana's Golden Age of literature. His books saw numerous reprintings and were often prize-winning bestsellers, with many being for film and other media. Originally published in 1899, "The Gentleman from Indiana" is Tarkington's first novel and explores the subject of corrupt law making, which he based on his personal experiences as a member of the legislature between 1902 and 1903.
