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H. R.

by Edwin Lefevre (1871–1943)

  • Free to read
  • 5 hours to read
  • 33 chapters
  • Reading level: 7th grade

"H. R." by Edwin Lefevre is a satirical novel written in the early 20th century. The story follows Hendrik Rutgers, a dissatisfied bank clerk who aspires for more meaning in his life beyond the confines of his mundane job. Frustrated with the banking industry and the societal expectations that limit him, Hendrik's journey begins as he contemplates his quest for freedom and a better existence. At the start of the novel, we meet Hendrik Rutgers, a charismatic bank clerk who feels trapped in his role at the bank, which he believes only enriches the institution, not himself. After a confrontation with his superior over a pay raise, Hendrik becomes increasingly disillusioned with the capitalist society around him. Fueled by a mix of indignation and the fervor of spring, he decides to resign, viewing his dismissal as an act of liberation rather than loss. In a bold turn of events, he decides to organize a union of sandwich-men, whom he sees as the embodiment of societal wrongs. The opening depicts his fiery spirit and sets the stage for a larger social commentary on class struggle and personal ambition in a rapidly industrializing America.

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  • New York (N.Y.)
  • Satire
  • Advertising
  • Labor unions
  • Bank employees

Read the opening

Chapter I

The trouble was not in being a bank clerk, but in being a clerk in a bank that wanted him to be nothing but a bank clerk. That kind always enriches first the bank and later on a bit of soil.

Hendrik Rutgers had no desire to enrich either bank or soil.

He was blue-eyed, brown-haired, clear-skinned, rosy-cheeked, tall, well-built, and square-chinned. He always was in fine physical trim, which made people envy him so that they begrudged him advancement, but it also made them like him because they were so flattered when he reduced himself to their level by not bragging of his muscles. He had a quick-gaited mind and much fluency of speech. Also the peculiar sense of humor of a born leader that enabled him to laugh at what any witty devil said about others, even while it prevented him from seeing jokes aimed at his sacred self. He not only was congenitally stubborn—from his Dutch ancestors—but he had his Gascon grandmother's ability to believe whatever he wished to believe, and his Scandinavian great-grandfather's power to fill himself with Berserker rage in a twinkling. This made him begin all arguments by clenching his fists. Having in his veins so many kinds of un-American blood, he was one of the few real Americans in his own country, and he always said so.

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Contents

Show all 33 chapters
  1. Chapter I
  2. Chapter II
  3. Chapter III
  4. Chapter IV
  5. Chapter V
  6. Chapter VI
  7. Chapter VII
  8. Chapter VIII
  9. Chapter IX
  10. Chapter X
  11. Chapter XI
  12. Chapter XII
  13. Chapter XIII
  14. Chapter XIV
  15. Chapter XV
  16. Chapter XVI
  17. Chapter XVII
  18. Chapter XVIII
  19. Chapter XIX
  20. Chapter XX
  21. Chapter XXI
  22. Chapter XXII
  23. Chapter XXIII
  24. Chapter XXIV
  25. Chapter XXV
  26. Chapter XXVI
  27. Chapter XXVII
  28. Chapter XXVIII
  29. Chapter XXIX
  30. Chapter XXX
  31. Chapter XXXI
  32. Chapter XXXII
  33. Chapter XXXIII

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About this edition

This free edition of H. R. by Edwin Lefevre comes from Project Gutenberg eBook #33314, released 2010-08-01. It is in the public domain in the United States, so you can read it here in full at no cost, on any phone, tablet or computer. Genre: Humour, Novels, American Literature.

Summary provided by Project Gutenberg (automatically generated).

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