Best Literary Legacy

Eleanor Gehres, who spent 25 years as head of the Denver Public Library's Western History/Genealogy Department and made it the institution it is today, is gone -- but very far from forgotten. Before her death from cancer last year, she had almost finished a massive mission: determining the "best" fiction...

April 4, 2002

[
        {
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Inline Content - Mobile Display Size",
          "component": "12017618",
          "insertPoint": "2",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "2"
        },{
          "name": "Editor Picks",
          "component": "17242653",
          "insertPoint": "4",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "1"
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "18838239",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "17261320",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "18838239",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - Leaderboard Tower - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "17261321",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        }
      ]

Eleanor Gehres, who spent 25 years as head of the Denver Public Library's Western History/Genealogy Department and made it the institution it is today, is gone -- but very far from forgotten. Before her death from cancer last year, she had almost finished a massive mission: determining the "best" fiction of the twentieth century. Golden-based Fulcrum Publishing finished the job for her. The result, The Best American Novels of the Twentieth Century, Still Readable Today, is itself eminently readable, an impressive lineup of 150 terrific books, complete with Gehres's assessments and profiles of authors ranging from John Steinbeck to Jane Smiley. Read alert!

Become A Member

BEFORE YOU GO...
Can you help us continue to share our stories? Since the beginning, Westword has been defined as the free, independent voice of Denver — and we'd like to keep it that way. Our members allow us to continue offering readers access to our incisive coverage of local news, food, and culture with no paywalls.