The Town is a novel by the American author William Faulkner, published in 1957, about the fictional Snopes family of Mississippi.

Each chapter is narrated from the point of view of one of three characters: Chick Mallison, Gavin Stevens, or V.K.

Gavin prepares an indictment against de Spain, as mayor, for Flem's theft of the brass at the power plant, largely motivated by his desire to stand up for "the principle that chastity and virtue in women shall be defended whether they exist or not."

De Spain outmaneuvers Gavin on the brass-stealing indictment, rendering the investigation moot.

Gavin joins the French service in WWI; catches pneumonia while carrying a stretcher for them.

Eck Snopes blows up a gas tank and himself, too, while looking for a missing child, Cedric Nunnery; his neck brace is all that can be found to bury.

Montgomery Ward Snopes, in France, goes into the "canteen business," then opens the Atelier Monty when he gets home.

Bayard Sartoris accidentally kills his grandfather, the Colonel, with that damned newfangled car.

Gavin speculates on the principles of Snopesism (hermaphroditic but vested always in the male); on the relationships between himself, Eula, and de Spain.

Uncle Willy Christian's drugstore robbed of money and narcotics; night marshal Grover Winbush is nowhere to be found during the event.

This starts a chain of events leading to the uncovering of the Atelier Monty as a "dirty picture" "magic lantern," which is why Grover Winbush was not available to catch the perpetrators of the robbery.

Flem tries to influence Gavin in the handling of the Montgomery Ward case, then plants whiskey in the Atelier Monty.

Chapter consists entirely of this paragraph: "And still he missed it even set--sitting right there in his own office and actively watching Flem rid Jefferson of Montgomery Ward.

Here, Ratliff is aware that Flem is ensuring that Montgomery Ward will be sent to Parchman (for the whiskey) rather than an out-of-state prison (for the porn, a federal charge) so that he will have a chance to trick Mink into attempting to escape.

Linda comes to dinner with the Stevens/Mallison family; her boyfriend Matt objects, driving up and down in his racing car.

He attempts to manage carefully the town's perception of his relationship with Linda by making their encounters seem coincidental.

Linda reveals her plans to attend the Jefferson Academy for Women (or whatever it's called); Gavin is horrified.

Polio comes to Jefferson; Chick and schoolmates get an extended holiday while the town officials try to figure out what to do.

Eula visits Gavin; reveals how Linda was sent to the Academy, that Flem is impotent, and what Ratliff's first and middle names actually are.

[1] Raymond J Wilson III has examined the mutual corruption of the town of Jefferson by Flem Snopes, and vice versa, as well as details in narrative inconsistencies between events mentioned in The Town and other Faulkner novels.

[3] Owen Robinson has noted the contrast in the narrative style and tone between The Hamlet and The Town.

[4] Thomas H Rogers commented critically, in his contemporary review of the novel, in his comparison between the literary merits of The Hamlet and The Town.

[5] Peter Swiggart has noted that the events and style in The Town reflect Faulkner's attempts to create a more realistic social milieu compared to his other works.