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''Mantrap'' is a 1926 novel by Sinclair Lewis. One of Lewis' two unsuccessful novels of the 1920s, the other being ''The Man Who Knew Coolidge''. ''Mantrap'' is the story of New York lawyer Ralph Prescott's journey into the wilds of Saskatchewan, and of his adventures there. The novel spawned two separate film adaptations, ''Mantrap'' (1926), and ''Untamed'' (1940). The novel was dedicated to American broadcaster and journalist Frazier Hunt, a friend of Lewis.〔"One American and His Attempt at Education", by Frazier Hunt, Simon & Schuster, 1938, p. 248-254〕〔(A. Frazier Hunt Biographical Notes ), "North Manchester () Historical Society", Retrieved 12 September 2013〕 ==Plot== Ralph Prescott, a lawyer with the New York City firm of Beasley, Prescott, Braun and Braun, is feeling the stress and strain of the demands placed on him by city and career. With a fellow club-member, E. Wesson Woodbury, he decides to travel west into the Canadian wilderness for a vacation of fishing and canoeing. Woodbury has made the arrangements, and all that Prescott need do is show up. Travelling by train through Winnipeg, the duo make their way to the Flambeau River, then to the former logging town of Whitewater. Although Prescott impresses his travelling companion with his handling of a surly innkeeper, the two are already finding themselves to be incompatible. Woodbury chides Prescott over his decision, for example, to carry a pillow in his gear. Taking the steamer ''Emily C. Just'' upriver to their departure point, Prescott and Woodbury finally set out with their native guides / canoe men, but tensions between them grow and tempers fray. After several misadventures in both canoeing and camping, they are openly hostile to one another. It is at this point that they encounter Joe Easter, of the Easter Trading Company. Ralph elects to abandon Woodbury and accept Easter's invitation to stay with him at his place further up the Mantrap River, at the small trading post of Mantrap Landing. Easter and Prescott travel with Lawrence Jackfish, Easter's native factotum, and upon arriving meet McGavity, Easter's dour Scottish competitor in trade, and Easter's wife, Alverna, a former manicurist from the Hotel Ranleagh in Minneapolis, Minnesota, who Easter met while in town and married the next day. In the ensuing days, Alverna's discontent with the limited social sphere of Mantrap Landing in general, and with Joe Easter in particular, becomes apparent. While tensions are on the rise with the indigenous Cree tribes who also inhabit the area, due to a suspension of their credit with the trading posts, tensions also grow with the introduction of Ralph Prescott to the local social dynamic. Prescott has little experience of women and is a bachelor, and soon he falls for Alverna's charms, but is simultaneously repulsed by the thought of betraying Joe Easter, whom he considers a friend. On reflection, Prescott also feels guilty at abandonning E. Wesson Woodbury, and is several times on the verge of deciding to depart to find him. Finally, after a meeting with the Cree at which the traders make their case for having their bills paid in order to restore the Cree's credit, only to be met with derision, Prescott leaves Mantrap Landing. Lawrence Jackfish pilots him, but they do not get far before Alverna catches up to the canoe and demands that Prescott take her with him. Suffering with a mixture of misgivings over betraying Joe Easter and his inconstant love for Alverna, Prescott agrees. The route they have taken, however, is longer and harder than anticipated, and as their supplies dwindle, Prescott and Alverna awaken to discover that Lawrence Jackfish has taken most of the supplies and the canoe. As they attempt to continue on foot, they flag down a hydroplane carrying firefighters to battle a nearby wildfire, but the plane cannot carry them. Instead, it drops a few supplies with which they attempt to continue their journey. However, shortly thereafter Joe Easter catches them up, and Prescott meditates on the idea of shooting him outright, but does not. Easter has come not to reclaim Alverna and punish Prescott, but to save Prescott from the mistake that he himself made, of becoming involved with Alverna. Easter goes on to explain that his stocks and warehouse have been destroyed by a fire set by the Cree in reprisal for the traders having cut off their credit: he is now broke and without resources or home (the fate of the others at Mantrap Landing is unclear). Easter wants to make a new start in Winnipeg, and even entertains the idea of travelling with Ralph Prescott to New York to try his luck there. Faced with a choice of who to take home with him, Prescott chooses Easter, to Alverna's disgust. After escaping the forest fire together, the three make their way to Winnipeg, where Alverna is put on a train for Minneapolis. Prescott learns that Woodbury had already passed through Winnipeg, and that Woodbury had claimed: "He volunteered that he had chucked you, deserted you, because you were so highbrow that he was bored!" Although Joe Easter has agreed to travel with Ralph Prescott to New York City, he eludes Prescott after shamming drunkenness at a party in an effort to convince Prescott that he is not fit for the sort of life which Ralph envisions. Prescott travels homeward, leaving Joe Easter to start anew in Winnipeg. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Mantrap (novel)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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