Zigzag Journeys in the White City. with Visits to the Neighboring Metropolis

In 1893, Chicago rose from the swamp in white marble and glass a city of impossible beauty called the White City, and into its gleaming avenues came Manton Marlowe, a Vermont school superintendent and devoted folklorist, to see what wonders the World's Fair might bring back to his small New England village. Sent as a representative of his local society, Manton carries the weight of his community's hopes: his father, a Quaker elder, yearns to attend the Peace Congress and champion international harmony, while young Ephraim simply yearns for adventure. As they zigzag through the fair's vast pavilions and traverse the neighboring metropolis, Manton keeps careful watch for ideas that might improve his hometown, from folk festival traditions to holiday celebrations that might bind neighbors together. Butterworth's novel captures a singular moment in American optimism, when a nation still believed progress and tradition could walk hand in hand, and when ordinary citizens traveled great distances seeking inspiration for their small communities. The book pulses with earnest Victorian faith in community, culture, and the idea that witnessing something grand might make one's own life larger.