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Content snapshot
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Violence
Some
Moderate; labor conflict violence and the realities of the industrial era
Language
Barely any
Mild period language
Sexual Content
Barely any
Brief period romantic content
Substance Use
Barely any
Period social drinking
Emotional Intensity
Some
Moderate; the psychological cost of sustained idealism against institutional power
What this book is about
William Allen White — the famous Emporia Gazette editor who spoke truth to the Gilded Age — spent years on this ambitious 1918 novel about the political and social life of a fictional Kansas town across several decades. The 'fool' of the title is a labor organizer who persists in his ideals despite the cruelty of the industrial order. White's insider knowledge of Midwestern politics gives the novel unusual authenticity.
Notes for sensitive readers
Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.
Labor violence and industrial-era exploitation
Political corruption themes
Reader Verification
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