The Luckiest Fool on Earth
The Twisted Yarn of America's Greatest Flagpole Sitter, Alvin "Shipwreck" Kelly
by Phillip S. Roberts
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Pub Date Oct 01 2025 | Archive Date Jul 30 2025
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Description
Do miracles exist? If asked, Alvin Kelly would tell you, “They absolutely do.” The fact that the 19-year-old from Hell’s Kitchen is returning to New York City with survivors of the Titanic is proof. He is fortunate to have met his manager, Joseph Emmerling, who lionizes him as America’s most unlikely hero; the shifty newspaperman knows how to exploit a fad and get rich. Kelly’s wife, Vivian is a career criminal who has her own motives. Her opinion is that miracles can be manufactured since she knows that desperate people want to believe her hokum. More evidence that wonders exist is embodied in Alvin’s friend, Edward Leedskalnin, mystical sculptor of the Coral Castle. Convinced he knows the secret to a supernatural phenomenon—levitation, Alvin would give anything to master that process as the former sailor called Shipwreck Kelly insanely quests to become the Flagpole Sitting Champion of the World.
Set against the backdrop of Roaring Twenties New York City, The Luckiest Fool on Earth tells the captivating story of Alvin “Shipwreck” Kelly, an unassuming sailor thrust into fame as the nation’s most celebrated flagpole sitter. This transformation is orchestrated by a loquacious newspaper man and his cunning grifter wife, who team up to exploit Alvin’s misfortunes for their own gain. As Alvin ascends—both literally and figuratively— he becomes a daring spectacle in an era of glitz and ambition. Yet beneath him lies a sobering journey while he gains understanding about the devastating cost of his need for fame.
A rollercoaster of ambition, deception, and redemption, The Luckiest Fool on Earth explores the fragile intersection of human connection and the intoxicating allure of fame. True to its era and hero’s journey, this is not a tale of happy endings, but a poignant reflection on the choices that define us.
Advance Praise
Roberts’s debut fictionalizes the story of flagpole sitter Alvin “Shipwreck” Kelly, orphaned and rescued from the streets of New York’s Hell’s Kitchen by Captain Thomas Arnold Jacobi in the early 1900s. Grateful for the fresh start, Alvin works hard and earns the coveted title of Jacobi’s “trusted mate,” sailing with him on the Helene—where he meets and falls in love with Vivian Steele and survives, at just 16 years old, when the Helene is shipwrecked. After returning to New York City—following a stint on the R.M.S. Carpathia as one of the crew members tasked with retrieving the Titanic’s survivors—Alvin is befriended by Joseph Emmerling, a journalist eager to turn his story into a book.
Roberts contextualizes Alvin’s life against the early 20th century’s propensity for daredevil feats like plunging over Niagara Falls in a barrel or partaking in death-defying aviation stunts. Amidst these people and their eccentric obsessions, Alvin comes across as simple and straightforward, with a limitless desire to excel and be adored. Eventually, he turns to flagpole sitting, becoming a popular figure towering above the skyline, with Joseph serving as his manager. He also runs into Vivian once again, marrying her and raising a son together—though their relationship is often troubled by the enduring attachment between Alvin and Joseph.
To avoid narrative lulls during Alvin’s extended performances, Roberts uses historical language and vivid snapshots of this lost art: Alvin's many attempts to pass hours of time spent perched on a 36” by 36” lumber square; the weather conditions of “living in the sky”; the ebb and swell of the crowd’s adulation; Vivian’s petty crime attempts to rake in extra cash on the ground. As the Machine Age takes hold and World War II approaches, Alvin teeters toward oblivion, along with several of his colleagues, heralding the end of a glittering, madcap era in America’s history.
Takeaway: Lively, historically rich romp through America’s daredevil era.
Booklife Review, a division of Publishers Weekly
Comparable Titles: Taylor Brown’s Wingwalkers; Glen David Gold's Carter Beats the Devil.
Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A-
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: A-
Marketing Plan
A Paperback and an E-book version are also available. I am working on an audio book
A Paperback and an E-book version are also available. I am working on an audio book
Available Editions
| EDITION | Hardcover |
| ISBN | 9798998504204 |
| PRICE | $29.95 (USD) |
| PAGES | 302 |
