The Innocents: A Story for Lovers

. . . this is a flagrant excursion, a tale for people who still read Dickens and clip out spring poetry and love old people and children . . .＂ -from the Introduction to The Innocents The Innocents (1917) is one of Sinclair Lewis’s earliest novels and is often put in the category of ＂potboiler＂ because it was created primarily to make money by appealing to popular taste. Nevertheless, Lewis’s deep sensitivity to societal problems emerges as the book explores the themes of identity and ageism. It tells the story of an older couple who take off on a journey to launch a business rather than move to an assisted living facility. Thanks to the sweetness of its characters, The Innocents encourages optimism and the defiance of convention but still makes a strong statement about discrimination against the elderly and the dissonance often present between one’s own identity and the identity that is perceived by society.