Parnassus on Wheels by Christopher Morley

Ma Kettle’s Travelin’ Bookstore

American author Christopher Morley (1890–1957) wrote or edited more than a hundred published books, but he’s probably best remembered for his first two novels, Parnassus on Wheels (1917) and its sequel The Haunted Bookshop (1919). In Greek mythology, Mount Parnassus is the home of the muses, and thus the word “Parnassus” has come to be used as a metaphor for anything related to education, literature, and the arts. In Parnassus on Wheels, Parnassus is the name of a bookstore in the form of a horse-drawn wagon that travels the countryside bringing literature to rural readers.

Parnassus on Wheels opens with a brief preface addressed to David Grayson, a popular author of the time, who wrote Adventures in Contentment and The Friendly Road, both of which served as inspiration for this book of Morley’s. Right from the get-go, therefore, the reader knows he’s in for the same kind of wholesome, homespun, lighthearted fiction for which Grayson was known. The character of Andrew McGill in Parnassus on Wheels, perhaps a fictional equivalent of Grayson, is a successful author and a bachelor who lives on a farm in the Long Island area of New York State with his sister Helen, who serves the role of his housewife, managing his domestic affairs. One day while Andrew is away, a traveling salesman pulls up to the McGill farm, driving the aforementioned Parnassus bookmobile. The proprietor of this traveling bookshop, Roger Mifflin, is not just looking to sell books but also to sell his entire business—wagon, books, horse, dog, and all. Helen decides to buy Parnassus, partly to stick it to her brother, who takes her for granted, and partly just to experience some adventure in her life for a change. She heads out onto the road with her new business. Mifflin accompanies her for the first day to show her the ropes of bookselling.

The spunky heroine of Parnassus on Wheels is not the typical beautiful young woman one usually finds in popular literature of this period. Helen is 39 years old, and by her own admission, “fat.” She also seems the unlikely owner of a bookstore since she opens the novel with an attitude that don’t take to no book-learnin’. The novel itself gives mixed messages about literacy. Morley’s clearly preaching the love of books, but in almost an anti-intellectual way. A century ago, it would have been difficult for rural Americans to get their hands on books, so Parnassus is a solution to that problem. It brings the bookstore to those who live nowhere near a bookstore. The message that Morley imparts through Helen in this novel, however, is that reading is good for people as long as they don’t challenge themselves. Country folk should stick to popular literature like Treasure Island, Robinson Crusoe, and cookbooks. Shakespeare would be a stretch for them, and they should stay away from philosophy or poetry.

Morley’s biggest mistake in writing Parnassus on Wheels is that he gives away the ending in the preface, so you spend the whole novel waiting for the inevitable to happen. Nevertheless, this book is moderately entertaining. Helen and Mifflin are likable characters. Everything that happens in the plot is utterly predictable, but you don’t mind so much because it’s clear that the novel was meant to be light, dumbed-down fare and never strives to be anything deeper. I certainly prefer Morley’s writing to Grayson’s. I put both authors into a literary category I call, “chicken soup for the soul,” which is not a compliment, but not necessarily an insult either, as long as you know up front what you’re in for.