The Myth of Ephraim Tutt: Arthur Train and His Great Literary Hoax

1. Arthur Train

1 Arthur Train I enjoy the dubious distinction of being known among lawyers as a writer, and among writers as a lawyer. —Arthur Train o n March 13, 1944, Ar thur Train was at the height of his literar y career. His most recent book had become a best seller, and he could hardly believe the storm of publicity that surr ounded it. Although his exact actions on that date have been lost to history, he likely followed his usual schedule and awoke early, dressed in his signature outfit—a dark blue pinstripe suit, a silk shirt, an unassuming tie, and brown shoes—and prepared to devote the next several hours to the welcome chore of writing at either Manhattan ’s University Club or Century Club.1 As he left his home, located at 113 East Seventy-Third Street, he bid his wife goodbye, grabbed his creasedbrim hat and deposited it on his head, r eached for his cane (as was the fashion at the time), and greeted the cantankerous early spring weather. As mundane as it may hav e started, this day proved to be a r emarkable one, for, by sunset, a handful of papers were delivered to Train that changed the course of the rest of his life. The papers were a summons and complaint; Train was being sued for fraud, along with his publisher and longtime editor. While the prospect of a lawsuit might or dinarily cause one to feel panic, I am nearly certain that upon reading these documents a look of amusement spread across Train’s face, his lips formed a sly grin, and his eyes twinkled—he was absolutely delighted. I n fact, the only mat- Arthur Train / 7 ter that likely bothered him was that he had not consider ed how advantageous a lawsuit would be until he had already become a party to one. Boyhood and Beyond Arthur Cheney Train was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on September 6, 1875, to Charles and S arah Train.2 His father attended Brown University and the Dane Law School of Harvard College, and after graduating with his law degree, he became district attorney of the nor thern district of Middlesex County, Massachusetts, in the late 1840s. Thereafter, Charles Train devoted his career to government service, working in a litany of positions . To name a few, he served as a Republican representative for the Thirty-Sixth and Thirty-Seventh US Congresses, which sat from 1859 to 1863.While Congress was recessed in 1862, CharlesTrain volunteered to serve in the Union army and worked “as assistant adjutant-general” during the Battle of Antietam. Charles Train was a delegate to the national Republican convention at Baltimore, which nominated Abraham Lincoln for the presidency in 1864, and was ev en honored with the distinction of being offered a seat as an associate justice on the US S upreme Court (which he declined). At the conclusion of his federal congr essional term,Train returned to Massachusetts, where he worked within his local government, first as a member of the common council and later in the state legislatur e.3 In 1871 he was elected attorney general of Massachusetts and was reelected annually to that position for sev en years. During this time, Charles Train prosecuted an assortment of cases, including “several celebrated capital cases.” By the 1870s,Train was known as “a criminal lawyer [who] unquestionably stood at the head of his profession, while as an attorney in civil cases he ranked among the most eminent attorneys in the S tate.”4 According to Arthur Train, one of his father’s schoolmates once described his father as “a genial, large-hearted, impulsive boy; sarcastic, transparent; never attempting to conceal his faults; nourishing no ill will; seeking no revenges; always ready to meet all consequences; just the bo y—as in years 8 / Chapter 1 after he was just the man—one would most like to hav e for a friend, or an enemy.” Despite Charles Train’s successful and lucrative career, Arthur’s mother— whom Arthur described as a “sweet little woman” who “had the charity and self-effacement of a saint”—governed their household with a strict sense of frugality, imparting a feeling on young Arthur that his “family came from a lower economic stratum than most of [his] fellows.” In fact, Arthur claimed this “early sense of social inferiority ” “dominated [his] life.” As a childTrain...