Free Air

“Free Air” is a novel written by Sinclair Lewis, published in 1919. It’s one of the first novels to celebrate the adventure and freedom that road trips introduced to America at the start of the twentieth century, thanks to the invention of the automobile. The story revolves around Claire Boltwood, a rich young woman from Brooklyn, and her father who drive across the country to help him regain his health. Travel by automobile in the first part of the twentieth century was difficult as many roads were not paved and many small towns had few hotels.