Touted by its original publisher as an exposé and indictment of blue-blooded Philadelphia society, the late Richard Powell's The Philadelphian was released to rave reviews and later became the 1959 Oscar-nominated film, The Young Philadelphians, starring Paul Newman and Robert Vaughn.

The Philadelphian was an immediate national bestseller, and in the 50 years since its debut the novel has been widely hailed as Richard Powell's crowning literary achievement. The author's acute sense of irony infuses this raw, powerful saga of a family of humble origins climbing the Philadelphia social ladder. Beginning with the emigration of a poor Irish girl in 1857, the story spans four generations and climaxes with her grandson, an ambitious young defense lawyer, holding the city spellbound in one of the most compelling courtroom scenes ever written.