Buell Hampton

"Buell Hampton" by Willis George Emerson is a story that weaves together desires for high society, relationships, and hints of conflict in the American Southwest during the early 1900s. The story follows Ethel Horton, a young woman freshly returned from studies in England, along with her mother and their dreams of marrying into nobility through her. From a vibrant tennis match, where Ethel shows her energy and her mother shows her ambitions, the story sets the stage for family expectations and social pressures. As the narrative builds, it quietly introduces tensions boiling between the wealthy elite and the working farmers, with the powerful cattle baron Horton playing a central role, promising a future of clashes rooted in money, personal goals, and social class.