Ticknor was published by Farrar, Straus & Giroux in 2006. The novel tells the story of George Ticknor, a 19th-century Boston historian who feels like a failure. In the rain, carrying a pie, he makes his way to the house of his childhood friend, William Prescott, to attend a dinner party. The book takes place entirely in Ticknor's head as he walks. We are privy to his crippling envy of Prescott -- of Prescott's lovely wife, his success on both sides of the Atlantic, and his tremendous work ethic. Ticknor fears that Prescott has only invited him to humiliate him in front of other men. The novel is loosely based on the friendship between the real George Ticknor and William Prescott, as well as on George Ticknor's loving biography of Prescott, titled The Life of William Hickling Prescott. Read reviews. Excerpt. Buy.