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The banker and the bear

by Henry Kitchell Webster (1875–1932)

  • Free to read
  • 5 hours to read
  • 22 chapters
  • Reading level: 6th grade

“The Banker and the Bear: The Story of a Corner in Lard” by Henry Kitchell Webster is a novel written in the early 20th century. It appears to center on the world of finance and business intrigue, focusing on family dynamics, ambition, and market speculation. The main character is John Bagsbury, a serious and driven banker seeking to modernize and control his father's old and conservative savings bank, set against a backdrop of personal relationships and rivalries among financiers. The opening of the novel introduces the Bagsbury family and their banking legacy, revealing the emotional rifts and ambitions that drive the characters. We learn about John’s difficult relationship with his father, his departure to another bank under the influence of the speculator Melville Sponley, and his eventual return to fight for control of the family’s institution after his father’s death. The narrative then broadens to include Dick Haselridge, John’s niece, whose arrival brings new perspectives and emotional resonance to the family. Initial chapters depict John’s struggles against a restrictive will, the maneuverings required to gain control of the bank, and the interconnected personal and professional lives of those around him. The story sets the stage for high-stakes business drama, introducing the pivotal figures and motives that will drive the coming conflicts.

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  • Didactic fiction
  • Social problems
  • Political fiction
  • Bankers

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Chapter I

BEGINNINGS

For more than forty years Bagsbury and Company was old John Bagsbury himself; merely another expression of his stiff, cautious personality. Like him it had been old from infancy; you could as easily imagine that he had once been something of a dandy, had worn a stiff collar and a well-brushed hat, as that its dusty black-walnut furniture had ever smelled of varnish. And, conversely, though he had a family, a religion to whose requirements he was punctiliously attentive, and a really fine library, the bank represented about all there was of old John Bagsbury.

Beside a son, John, he had a daughter, born several years earlier, whom they christened Martha. She grew into a capricious, pretty girl, whom her father did not try to understand, particularly as he thought she never could be of the smallest importance to Bagsbury and Company. When, before she was twenty, in utter disregard of her father’s forcibly expressed objection, she married Victor Haselridge, she dropped forever out of the old man’s life.

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Contents

  1. Front Matter
  2. Chapter I
  3. Chapter II
  4. Chapter III
  5. Chapter IV
  6. Chapter V
  7. Chapter VI
  8. Chapter VII
  9. Chapter VIII
  10. Chapter IX
  11. Chapter X
  12. Chapter XI
  13. Chapter XII
  14. Chapter XIII
  15. Chapter XIV
  16. Chapter XV
  17. Chapter XVI
  18. Chapter XVII
  19. Chapter XVIII
  20. Chapter XIX
  21. Chapter XX
  22. Chapter XXI

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About this edition

This free edition of The banker and the bear by Henry Kitchell Webster comes from Project Gutenberg eBook #75767, released 2025-04-01. 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: Novels, American Literature, Business/Management.

Summary provided by Project Gutenberg (automatically generated).

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