This article is about the 1912 novel. For the 1936 film, see Bunker Bean (film).
Illustration of Bunker Bean by Frederic Rodrigo Gruger from the October 12, 1912 issue of The Saturday Evening Post.
Bunker Bean is a novel by Harry Leon Wilson. It was originally published as a serial under the title His Majesty Bunker Bean in The Saturday Evening Post beginning in the October 12, 1912 publication and ending in the December 14, 1912 edition.[1] The nine issues were illustrated by Frederic Rodrigo Gruger.[2] Well received, it was published in book form in January 1913 by Doubleday under the title Bunker Bean.[3] The novel included one of the earliest representations of the "flapper" in literature; although many of the later stylized associations with that term such as bobbed hair and hip flasks did not emerge until later in the 1920s.[4]
The story depicts shy and shrinking stenographer Bunker Bean escaping from the troubled reality around him through his dreams. He seeks help from the spiritualist Countess Casanova who convinces him that he is the reincarnation of Napoleon Bonaparte. The news bolsters him into new confidence temporarily only to be deflated when he looses confidence in being able to win the affections of his boss's daughter known as "The Flapper". His faith in himself is renewed once again when he seeks the help of another psychic medium, Professor Balthasar, who discovers that he was a king of Egypt named Ram Tah prior to being Napoleon.[1]
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
