Fox, Paul. Four Men (New York: Scribner’s, 1946) 537 p.

This epic follows the lives of four young sailors from The First World War to middle age during the Second World War. One becomes a doctor and moves to Boston. He meets a young librarian named Emma Bass, who has a good figure but a plain face. She is a sad and lonely single woman. The doctor is not interested in Emma but she persists and eventually they agree to marry some day. They never do.