The Devil and Webster Summary
Jean Hanff Korelitz

The Devil and Webster Overview

Jean Hanff Korelitz’s novel, The Devil and Webster, is a work of realistic fiction that follows the president of Webster College, Naomi Roth, as she works through the social and political trials of running a prestigious college with a history of exclusivity and inaccessibility. As Naomi struggles with mitigating student activism, maintaining her friendships, and navigating her changing relationship with her daughter, Hannah, Webster College as an institution must reckon with its conservative past. Throughout the novel, Korelitz touches on themes of integrity, identity, activism and progress, privacy, and the power and volatility of instant, technological communication.