Free Air is a novel by Sinclair Lewis about an early twentieth-century automobile journey across America. It follows a young Brooklyn society woman and a small-town mechanic whose paths cross on the open road, and their gradual, class-crossing friendship. Warm and observant, it captures the freedom and upheaval of the early motoring age.
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Text source: gutenberg.org · The work is in the public domain.
Opening of the book
FREE AIR BY SINCLAIR LEWIS AUTHOR OF THE JOB, Etc. GROSSET & DUNLAP PUBLISHERS NEW YORK Copyright, 1919, by HARCOURT, BRACE AND HOWE, Inc. CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I MISS BOLTWOOD OF BROOKLYN IS LOST IN THE MUD 3 II CLAIRE ESCAPES FROM RESPECTABILITY 10
III A YOUNG MAN IN A RAINCOAT 21 IV A ROOM WITHOUT 36 V RELEASE BRAKES—SHIFT TO THIRD 49 VI THE LAND OF BILLOWING CLOUDS 66 VII THE GREAT AMERICAN FRYING PAN 74 VIII THE DISCOVERY OF CANNED SHRIMPS AND HESPERIDES 85 IX THE MAN WITH AGATE EYES 101 X THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE HILLSIDE ROAD 112 XI SAGEBRUSH TOURISTS OF THE GREAT HIGHWAY 119 XII THE WONDERS OF NATURE WITH ALL MODERN IMPROVEMENTS 129 XIII ADVENTURERS BY FIRELIGHT 138 XIV THE BEAST OF THE CORRAL 149 XV THE BLACK DAY OF THE VOYAGE 154 XVI THE SPECTACLES OF AUTHORITY 165 XVII THE VAGABOND IN GREEN 176 XVIII THE FALLACY OF ROMANCE 188 XIX THE NIGHT OF ENDLESS PINES 194 XX THE FREE WOMAN 205 XXI THE MINE OF LOST SOULS 219 XXII ACROSS THE ROOF OF THE WORLD 228 XXIII THE GRAEL IN A BACK YARD IN YAKIMA 237 XXIV HER OWN PEOPLE 242 XXV THE ABYSSINIAN PRINCE 254 XXVI A CLASS IN ENGINEERING AND OMELETS 270 XXVII THE VICIOUSNESS OF NICE THINGS 279 XXVIII THE MORNING COAT OF MR. HUDSON B. RIGGS 290 XXIX THE ENEMY LOVE 300 XXX THE VIRTUOUS PLOTTERS 307 XXXI THE KITCHEN INTIMATE 310 XXXII THE CORNFIELD ARISTOCRAT 331 XXXIII TOOTH-MUG TEA 345 XXXIV THE BEGINNING OF A STORY 361