The Trial of Martin Ross
Encyclopedia
The Trial of Martin Ross is a novel
by the American
writer Alfred Kern
.
It is set in the late 1960s over Thanksgiving
weekend in Buchanan, Pennsylvania
(a fictionalized Meadville
, north of Pittsburgh). Martin Ross and his wife Janet celebrate the holiday alone and for the first time without their three children, now grown. As a storm dumps a heavy snow, Ross, a liberal lawyer in a conservative town, reads the proofs of his son’s first novel, set in a fictionalized Buchanan. Quickly he realizes the novel is an indictment of himself and his life’s work, and he struggles to defend himself to his son across the generational chasm.
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
by the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
writer Alfred Kern
Alfred Kern
Alfred Kern was an American novelist and professor.He served as the Frederick F. Seely Professor of English at Allegheny College in Meadville, Pennsylvania, from the 1950s until his retirement in the mid-1980s....
.
It is set in the late 1960s over Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving Day is a holiday celebrated primarily in the United States and Canada. Thanksgiving is celebrated each year on the second Monday of October in Canada and on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States. In Canada, Thanksgiving falls on the same day as Columbus Day in the...
weekend in Buchanan, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
(a fictionalized Meadville
Meadville, Pennsylvania
Meadville is a city in and the county seat of Crawford County, Pennsylvania, United States. The city is generally considered part of the Pittsburgh Tri-State and is within 40 miles of Erie, Pennsylvania. It was the first permanent settlement in northwest Pennsylvania...
, north of Pittsburgh). Martin Ross and his wife Janet celebrate the holiday alone and for the first time without their three children, now grown. As a storm dumps a heavy snow, Ross, a liberal lawyer in a conservative town, reads the proofs of his son’s first novel, set in a fictionalized Buchanan. Quickly he realizes the novel is an indictment of himself and his life’s work, and he struggles to defend himself to his son across the generational chasm.