The Vertical City

Author(s): Fannie Hurst

Genre(s): Short Stories, Published 1900 Onward

Narrators: Lisa Reichert

Number of Chapters: 15

Length: 07 hours and 15 minutes

Language: English

As the city above soars gloriously skyward, the denizens of the city writhe in its dirty underbelly.

The Vertical City is a collection of six short stories by Fannie Hurst (American). Each story, tells in gritty, dramatic style, of ugly inner city tragedy: unwed mothers, women doing what they need to do in order to escape poverty, or loneliness… A mother can literally give her life in the attempt to provide a better life for her child, and even then she may fail because her love, protection and guidance, cannot overcome the depravity of the environment.

Stories included here are: She Walks In Beauty, Back Pay, The Vertical City, The Smudge, Guilty, and Roulette. Summary by Lisa Reichert