In 1940, 25-year-old James Atlee Phillips, writing under the pen name Philip Atlee, authored "The Inheritors," a satirical cultural criticism based on the pre-World War II elite of Fort Worth.

Despite praise for his literary debut, the upper echelon of Cowtown was not amused by Phillips' portrayal of the wealthy, and went to great lengths to have the novel wiped from existence.

For years, the novel existed only in devoted collectors' libraries.