Return to Tulsa
The fourth and final title in the Tulsa Series, Return to Tulsa finds Erik and Clarette still in the very early days of their marriage They move from Tulsa to Erik’s hometown of Bartlesville where they struggle to make their weekly newspaper a success.
The Frank Philips mansion in Bartlesville, Oklahoma.
When torrential rains cause the Caney River to overflow its banks, the flood drives their small weekly newspaper out of business. When an offer comes for them to sell out, they readily accept. It’s at that point, they decide to go to New York—back to Clarette’s roots.
Prohibition is in its glory days by 1922. The 18th Amendment to the Constitution prohibited the making, transportation, and sale of alcohol, which literally turned formerly law-abiding citizens into lawbreakers almost overnight.
Prohibition proved to be high lucrative for gangsters and bootleggers. They saw their chance to illegally supply alcohol to Americans and rake in millions. The prominence and power of gangsters grew all throughout the years of prohibition.
It’s into this scenario that Erik is plunged once he takes on the job of a reporter at the New York American—the very newspaper where Clarette got her start.
Meanwhile, Clarette dreams of seeing the play that she has written make it all the way to the Broadway stage. She sets about to make it happen.