Lexington Avenue Bombing - Transition

Transition

Philosopher Will Durant later created a fictionalized version of this bombing and placed the semi-autobiographical narrator, using the name "John Lemaire," in the story as the innocent fourth roommate. This version appeared in Durant's 1927 book, Transition: A Sentimental Story of One Mind and One Era. In Durant's version, the innocent roommate survived. The parallels between the true story and Durant's version are unmistakable, as Durant associated with anarchists loosely affiliated with the Ferrer Center at which Durant taught. Durant further describes the bombing as intended retaliation against a wealthy industrialist whose company had caused a massacre of employees in Colorado. Despite the use of fictionalized names, some confusion about Durant's intentions with this material has arisen, possibly due to editorial changes as the book was reprinted. An editor's "Caution" in the 1955 edition states that initially the book was "in the form of a novel; consequently it added, to the actual experiences and memories of the author, some events and conversations not actually his own."