The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit (novel)
First edition
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| Author | Sloan Wilson |
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| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Realistic fiction |
| Published | 1955, Simon & Schuster |
The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit is a 1955 novel by Sloan Wilson about the American search for purpose in a world dominated by business. The main characters, a middle-class young couple named Tom and Betsy Rath, share a struggle to find contentment in their hectic and material culture while several other characters fight essentially the same battle, but struggle in it for different reasons. In the end, it is a story of taking responsibility for one's own life.
The novel was the basis for the 1956 film of the same name starring Gregory Peck and Jennifer Jones as Tom and Betsy Rath.
Tom and Betsy Rath live in a rundown house in Westport, Connecticut in 1953. They have three children (two girls and a boy) and have money problems. Tom is 33 years old, a Harvard graduate, and works at a Manhattan charitable organization. He barely survived as an Army paratroop officer during World War II, having fought in both the European and Pacific combat theaters, during which he had an extramarital affair.
Tom has haunting flashbacks of the affair as well as his combat experiences. He killed 17 men in combat, including the accidental killing of his friend with a hand grenade in the heat of battle. His stay-at-home wife knows only that Tom is somehow "changed" since the war.
One day while reflecting on the inadequacy of his house, Tom runs into a friend who works at United Broadcasting Corporation, a New York-based television network. This friend encourages Tom to apply for a new opening in public relations.
Tom gets the job, working for Ralph Hopkins, the top man at the network, an empire-builder surrounded by politicking yes-men. Hopkins is to propose the establishment of national mental health services to a group of physicians and offer his own prestige and network toward that end. Tom must figure out how his boss can best present the proposal so that the learned doctors will rise in unison and appoint Hopkins to spearhead the campaign.
Hired on a six-month probationary basis, Tom reports to a humorless game-player who rejects five different drafts of the speech and ends up substituting one of his own. Hopkins is satisfied, but Tom persuades him that the approach is all wrong, that it misrepresents Hopkins' qualifications to head the campaign. Tom's approach is more sensible; Hopkins is impressed. Tom reminds Hopkins of his own son, who was killed in combat.
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