Sanora Babb

Against the dark background of Des Tannehill’s declining fortunes stand Robin’s high spirits and intelligence as she experiences the turbulent emotions of first sexual love and rebels against the circumstances of the gambler’s rambling life. The novel’s depiction of Depression-era America and its lost families is one that will haunt readers long after the final page.

This long out of print novel, originally published in 1958, has just been republished by Muse Ink Press. Readers of Sanora Babb's memoir, An Owl on Every Post, will appreciate this largely autobiographical novel of her young adult years and entry into womanhood.

“There is a good deal of laughter in The Lost Traveler. There is a good deal of tragedy in it, too, for Miss Babb has given us a living and unflinchingly honest picture of a wandering gambler and his family. This is her first novel and she shows herself to be a searching storyteller.”

“Sanora Babb has done a remarkable job of making the hero, Des Tannehill, sympathetic and understandable in spite of his occupation and occasional brutality. In fact, she has made the whole Tannehill family come alive, particularly Robin, the older daughter, the only member of the family with fortitude enough to stand up to her father.”
“Strongly recommended. A fascinating story of a professional nomadic gambler who starts by being a hero in the eyes of his wife and daughters and ends in lonely disgrace: occasionally embarrassing, frequently funny, and as an account of the development of family relationships good by any standards.”
“Sanora Babb’s novel is spare and accurate in its depiction of the ferocity of family feelings and the soul of the gambling man.”