# Addie Pray

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Addie_Pray
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Addie_Pray.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Addie_Pray
> Source revision: 1354567819
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

{{Short description|1971 novel by Joe David Brown}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox book
| name              = Addie Pray
| image_size        =
| alt               =
| author            = [Joe David Brown](/source/Joe_David_Brown)
| country           = United States
| language          = English
| genre             = Fiction
| publisher         = [Simon & Schuster](/source/Simon_%26_Schuster)
| pub_date          = June 1, 1971
| media_type        = Print (hardcover)
| pages             = 313 pp
| awards            =
| isbn              = 978-0671209629
| image             = File:Addie_Pray_book_cover.jpg
}}

'''''Addie Pray''''' is a 1971 novel by [Joe David Brown](/source/Joe_David_Brown).  It was adapted for the 1973 film ''[Paper Moon](/source/Paper_Moon_(film))'', directed by [Peter Bogdanovich](/source/Peter_Bogdanovich). After the film's release, the novel was retitled '''''Paper Moon'''''.

The 1974 [ABC](/source/American_Broadcasting_Company) [situation comedy](/source/situation_comedy) ''[Paper Moon](/source/Paper_Moon_(American_TV_series))'', which aired from September 1974 to January 1975, was based on the 1973 movie and the characters created for ''Addie Pray''.<ref>Brooks & Marsh, p. 795.</ref>

==Synopsis==
The novel is narrated by Addie, an orphaned girl, who travels with [confidence man](/source/confidence_tricks) Moses "Long Boy" Pray in the early 1930s, during the [Great Depression](/source/Great_Depression). Addie states at the beginning of the novel that Long Boy may or may not be her father; she says that her late mother was the "wildest" girl in her town, and that Long Boy is one of her three possible fathers.  Their characters are established in [Alabama](/source/Alabama), and the storyline then carries them to other Southern states around [Memphis](/source/Memphis%2C_Tennessee).

In the second part of the novel, Addie and Moses meet an older conman who teaches them class and sophistication. They then begin dropping fake letters, promising big yields in a silver mine, in order to draw in greedy victims.

In the last third of the novel, Addie is more directly involved in a scam, posing as the long-lost granddaughter of a supposedly wealthy old woman.

==Editions==
* ''Addie Pray'', Simon & Schuster, 1971. {{ISBN|978-0-671-20962-9}}
* ''Paper Moon: A Novel'', Thunder's Mouth Press, 2002. {{ISBN|978-1-56858-230-6}}

==References==
===Citations===
{{reflist}}

===Bibliography===
* Brooks, Tim & Marsh, Earle (1995). ''The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network TV Shows: 1946-Present''. Ballantine Books. {{ISBN|0-345-39736-3}}.

{{Authority control}}

Category:1971 American novels
Category:American novels adapted into films
Pray, Addie
Category:Great Depression novels
Category:Novels about orphans
Category:Novels about con artists
Category:Novels set in Alabama
Category:Novels set in New Orleans
Category:Simon & Schuster books

{{1970s-novel-stub}}

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Addie Pray](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Addie_Pray) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Addie_Pray?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.