'Charge It' Keeping Up With Harry

Charge It: Keeping Up With Harry by Irving Bacheller delivers a sharp, funny portrait of fashionable extravagance and the small-town forces that try to restrain it. Set in early 20th-century New England, this comic novel follows Harry Swiftly’s reckless appetite for style, the genial reformer Socrates Potter, and a colorful cast—including the spirited Lizzie—caught between aspiration and austerity. Bacheller’s warm, satirical voice skewers consumerism, social climbing, and the new cultural fads of his day while celebrating friendship, civic pride, and common-sense morality. With scenes of polite scandal, witty dialogue, and keen observations about credit, reputation, and the changing American middle class, the book blends gentle humor with social commentary typical of classic literature. Readers will recognize period details and cultural debates of 1912 brought to life through lively character-driven episodes and restrained moral lessons. Perfect for fans of literary humor and historical fiction, this audiobook is ideal for listeners who enjoy satirical fiction, cozy yet clever period pieces, and American social comedies that remain relevant for modern conversations about money, taste, and community.