The Poorhouse Fair was the first novel by the American author John Updike

John Updike

John Hoyer Updike was an American novelist, poet, short story writer, art critic, and literary critic....

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A new edition (New York : Knopf, 1977) was published with an introduction by the author. According to the introduction, the new edition contains some changes from the first edition

Plot

The setting is a fictional location in New Jersey. At the Diamond County Home for the Aged, the inmates prepare for the ritual of the Poorhouse Fair; a summer celebration at which the old and infirm sell their produce to the people of the nearby town. The elderly residents at the home, full of memories and complaints, take pride every year in the excitements of this one day. But when the fair goes less well that the old folks had hoped, they are in no doubt who to blame: Conner, the new prefect of the home. Together, they begin to revolt against the younger man, and enact an ancient rite of protest.