Alice Adams, a novel by Booth Tarkington, was first published in 1921. Tarkington's novel tells the story of the disintegration of a lower middle-class family in a small Midwestern town. Alice Adams was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for best novel in 1922. A social climber, the title character is ashamed of her unsuccessful family. Hoping to attract a wealthy husband, she lies about her background, but she is found out and is shunned by those whom she sought to attract..