The Escape of Mr. Trimm His Plight and other Plights

"The Escape of Mr. Trimm" by Irvin S. Cobb is a story from the early 1900's where a banker named Hobart W. Trimm deals with the fall out from his trial and sentencing for his role in the failure of The Thirteenth National Bank. The book tells about Trimm's struggle to cope with the humiliation of his downfall all while trying to find a way to escape from his sentence, which turns into a story of desperation and cleverness. At the start of the novel it details Mr. Trimm's change from his earlier life filled with money and power to now being shackled and going by train to prison. He feels distant and dislikes what is happening to him as he thinks back to his social status and how he was portrayed when they were reporting on his trial. However, as he is on the train, a collision happens which unexpectedly sets him free. After the train wreck, Trimm is alone in the woods, considering how he might fully free himself from the law, even with the challenges of handcuffs, which stand as proof of his fall from grace.