Lardner had been mining this vein of social satire as early as Gullible's Travels, Etc. (1917). In the title story of that collection, the Gullibles, disdaining the "riff and raff" of their Chicago neighborhood, embark on an expedition to join the "Elight" in Palm Beach, Florida. Like the Finches, the Gullibles find high society impenetrable and hurry back to Chicago: "Ain't it grand to be home." In the final story, the Gullibles attempt to climb the social ladder at home with equally unhappy results; they slip on the exotic game of bridge. As in The Big Town, the husband is the narrator; he is cruder, however, than Tom Finch and more his wife's accomplice.