Skip to content

Rainbow on the Road by Esther Forbes - 1954

by Esther Forbes

Similar copies are shown below.
Similar copies are shown to the right.
Rainbow on the Road by Esther Forbes - 1954

Rainbow on the Road

by Esther Forbes

  • Used
  • fair
  • Hardcover
  • first
This book is in Fair condition. Cover has some marking or stain (shown). Clean reading pages. Permanent mark on end paper (not shown). 249 pages. This book is now OOP.

About the book
Rainbow on the Road is a 1954 novel by Esther Forbes, in which a peddler-artist named Jude spends his winters painting the figures of men and women on canvases, while leaving the faces blank. When spring comes, he travels by cart to various New England towns, charging people $3 to $5 to have the blank faces filled in with their likenesses.

The simple plot is essentially a series of vignettes. Jude saves a young woman from making a disastrous marriage to an older man by creating a portrait as if she had drowned herself — as did the old man's previous wife. Jude flirts with a sexy tavern mistress whose face just happens to fit the Rubens-style nude painting that he seldom shows to anyone. The most dramatic moment occurs when a sheriff mistakenly arrests him in the mistaken belief that he is an infamous highwayman.

Rainbow on the Road's chief rewards are in the portrayal of local types and their colorful phrases ("She was plump as a little pig. active as sin, awkward as a calf, and not much more legs on her than a pigeon"). The evocations of New England during the four seasons are memorable, as in the book's late-autumn ending: "Crows were out gleaning, looking like blown bits of charred paper. And talking all the time — like crows talk. Far above, the lonely hawk floating. Harvest is over. It is the lone-somest time of the year."

The novel (published by Houghton Mifflin, and now out of print) forms the basis of the 1969 Broadway musical, Come Summer.

About the Author

Esther Louise Forbes (June 28, 1891 – August 12, 1967) was an American novelist, historian and children's writer who received the Pulitzer Prize and the Newbery Medal.


  • Bookseller The Reading Hour US (US)
  • Format/Binding Good
  • Book Condition Used - Fair
  • Jacket Condition none
  • Quantity Available 1
  • Edition First
  • Binding Hardcover
  • Publisher Houghton Mifflin Company
  • Place of Publication United States
  • Date Published 1954
  • Keywords Fiction, Classics, 1954 American Novels, New England, American Novels adapted into play

We have 29 copies available starting at £2.20.

No image available

Rainbow on the road

by Forbes, Esther

  • Used
  • Hardcover
Condition
Used
Binding
Hardcover
Quantity Available
1
Seller
Derwood, Maryland, United States
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 5 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
£2.20

Show Details

Description:
Boston: Houghton Mifflin. 1954. Hard cover. 343 p.; 22 cm. . No previous owner's name. clean, tight pages. No bent corners. a bit of shelf wear .
Item Price
£2.20
No image available

Rainbow on the Road

by Forbes, Esther

  • Used
  • very good
  • Hardcover
Condition
Used - Very Good
Jacket Condition
Good
Edition
Book Club (BCE/BOMC)
Binding
Hardcover
Quantity Available
1
Seller
Tolar, Texas, United States
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 5 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
£3.21

Show Details

Description:
Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1954. Cover slightly scuffed with corners and spine rubbed. Jacket has worn and chipped edges. Pages are clean, text has no markings, binding is sound. . Book Club (BCE/BOMC). Hard Cover. Very Good/Good. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall.
Item Price
£3.21
No image available

Rainbow on the Road

by Esther Forbes

  • Used
  • good
  • Hardcover
Condition
Used - Good
Binding
Hardcover
Quantity Available
1
Seller
Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 5 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
£1.20

Show Details

Description:
Houghton Mifflin Company, 1954-01-01. Hardcover. Good. Book Club Edition/Book of the Month Club. A nice copy with a tight and square binding. Dust jacket is very good but yellowed on reverse side. Light blue cloth boards are good but mildly faded on spine. Text is clean but mildly yellowed. Previous owner's name sticker is affixed to first front end page. Careful packaging and fast shipping. We recommend EXPEDITED MAIL for even faster delivery.
Item Price
£1.20
No image available

Rainbow on the Road

by Forbes, Esther

  • Used
  • good
  • Hardcover
Condition
Used - Good
Jacket Condition
Good
Edition
Book Club (BCE/BOMC)
Binding
Hardcover
Quantity Available
1
Seller
Tolar, Texas, United States
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 5 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
£4.02

Show Details

Description:
New York: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1954. Jacket rubbed with light wear. Boards have only minor shelfwear. Pages are clean, text has no markings, binding is sound. . Book Club (BCE/BOMC). Hard Cover. Good/Good. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall.
Item Price
£4.02
Rainbow on the Road

Rainbow on the Road

by Forbes, Esther (Author)

  • Used
  • very good
  • Hardcover
Condition
Used - Very Good
Jacket Condition
Good+
Edition
Book Club (BCE/BOMC)
Binding
Hardcover
Quantity Available
1
Seller
Richland, Washington, United States
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 4 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
£4.42

Show Details

Description:
Boston, Massachusetts: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1954. Book Club (BCE/BOMC). Hardcover. Very Good/Good+. Used Book: Hard Cover A few small tears on head and foot of jacket spine. Rubbing to jacket corners. Light edge and shelf wear to dustjacket. Bumping to spine.
Item Price
£4.42
No image available

RAINBOW ON THE ROAD

by ESTHER FORBES

  • Used
  • good
  • Hardcover
Condition
Used - GOOD
Binding
Hardcover
Quantity Available
1
Seller
New Britain, Pennsylvania, United States
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 5 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
£4.02

Show Details

Description:
BOSTON MASS.: HOUGHTON MIFFLIN. hard cover no dj. GOOD.
Item Price
£4.02
No image available

Rainbow on the Road

by Esther Forbes

  • Used
  • Hardcover
  • first
Condition
USED Good
Jacket Condition
Fair Jacket
Edition
Book Club Edition
Binding
Hardcover
Quantity Available
1
Seller
Montclair, New Jersey, United States
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 5 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
£4.82

Show Details

Description:
Houghton Mifflin, 1954. Book Club Edition. Hardcover. USED Good/Fair Jacket.
Item Price
£4.82
No image available

Rainbow on the Road

by Forbes, Esther

  • Used
  • good
  • Hardcover
Condition
Used - Good
Jacket Condition
Good
Binding
Hardcover
Quantity Available
1
Seller
Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 5 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
£4.02

Show Details

Description:
Houghton Mifflin, 1954. 1st Ed. Ex-library, slight shelf wear, back of jacket flap pasted on one endpaper, slight discoloration on board edges from old library mylar cover with black trim. Inside pages very good.. Hard Cover. Good/Good.
Item Price
£4.02
No image available

When Angels Fall

by McKinney, Meagan

  • Used
  • good
  • Hardcover
Condition
Used - Good
Jacket Condition
Good -
Binding
Hardcover
Quantity Available
1
Seller
Tolar, Texas, United States
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 5 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
£5.62

Show Details

Description:
New York: Dell Publishing, 1990. Jacket scuffed with chipped edges. Red boards have light wear. Pages are clean, text has no markings, binding is sound. Prior owner name and gummark on fep. . Hard Cover. Good/Good -. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. Ex Libris.
Item Price
£5.62
No image available

Rainbow on the road

by Forbes, Esther

  • Used
  • Hardcover
Condition
Used - Good condition
Binding
Hardcover
Quantity Available
1
Seller
Readville, Massachusetts, United States
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 5 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
£5.62

Show Details

Description:
Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1954. Hardcover. Good condition. 343pp. 22 cm.
Item Price
£5.62