The tragedy occurred more than four decades ago, but the suicide of Ross Lockridge, Jr., continues to echo through informed discussions about contemporary American fiction. What, the initiated reader wonders, might the author of Raintree County (1948) have contributed not only to American literature but also to the genre of fiction following the stunning achievement of his only novel? Would he have weathered the curious combination of clamor and glory that swirls around the gifted young novelist with a major success and then have moved on to make his mark as a respected artist of an enduring canon? Or would he have gone the route of countless other successful beginners and given way to the hoopla -- to the approval and applause, to the checks and contracts -- and written a series of books that failed to measure up to the standards of the initial breakthrough? These queries are...