Helen of the Old House

Harold Bell Wright

Helen is not the main character; it is the mill, in this small town in the first half of the 20th century. This is a story of labor strife, class inequity and warfare, poverty and wealth, socialism vs. capitalism, and love and hatred. It centers on two families; each family includes a father and a son and a daughter. In their childhood years, they were all very close. Over time, Helen ‘s family becomes very wealthy, the other family less so. By questionable means, Helen’s father becomes the owner of the mill. He represents corporate greed at its worst. A labor organizer named Jake Vodell creates major strife. He is described as a communist and a “foreigner”. A central character is an old, injured and retired worker called the Interpreter. He attempts to make the town realize that the real enemy is neither labor nor capital; it is the extremes of capital greed and labor socialism. Such class conflict is a major backdrop in most of Harold Bell Wright’s novels. He was a best-selling author of his time. His books show how much progress we have made in technology; human behavior seems little changed - Summary by Bob Rollins (10 hr 50 min)