| Author | Vaughan Kester |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | M. Leone Bracker |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Bobbs-Merrill Company |
Publication date | March 11, 1911[1] |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (hardcover) (448 p.) |
The Prodigal Judge is a novel written by American novelist Vaughan Kester and published in 1911.[2][3][4][5][6]
Kester wrote the novel while living at Gunston HallinVirginia. A best-seller, it was the second-best selling fiction book in the United States in 1911.[7][8][9] Kester died in July 1911, but not before enjoying the knowledge his book had reached the top of the bestseller lists.[10]
To promote the book, publisher Bobbs-Merrill Company held a "book review contest", with prizes of $250, $150, and $100 for the first through third best reviews published in the first month of the book's release, judged by a panel consisting of Yale University professor William Lyon Phelps, magazine editor John Sanborn Phillips, and writer William Allen White.[1] Third place went to H. L. Mencken.[11]
It debuted at the Bronx Opera House in December 1913 with George Fawcett playing the judge.[12]
It was also made into a silent film of the same title directed by Edward José, starring Jean Paige and Macklyn Arbuckle (as the judge), released in 1922.[13]
