Theodore Dreiser

A master of gritty naturalism, Theodore Dreiser explores the corruption of the American dream in The Financier. Frank Cowperwood, a fiercely ambitious businessman, emerges as the very embodiment of greed as he relentlessly seeks satisfaction in wealth, women, and power. As Cowperwood deals and double-deals, betrays and is in turn betrayed, his rise and fall come to represent the American success story stripped down to brutal realities-a struggle for spoils without conscience or pity. Dreiser's 1912 classic remains an unsparing social critique as well as a devastating character study of one of the most unforgettable American businessmen in twentieth-century literature.

Theodre Dreiser was born into a large and impoverished German American family in Terre Haute, Indiana, in 1871. He began his writing career as a reporter, working for newspapers in Chicago. Pittsburg, and St. Louis, until an editor friend, Arthur Henry, suggested he write a novel. The result was Sister Carrie, based on the life of Dreiser's own sister Emma, who had run off to New York with a married man. Rejected by several publishers as "immoral," the book was finally accepted by Doubleday and Company, and published-over Frank Doubleday's strong objections-in 1900.

Theodore Dreiser: Collected Works presents a comprehensive anthology of one of American literatures most vital voices. This collection showcases Dreisers hallmark naturalistic style, deeply embedded in the social fabric and economic struggles of early 20th-century America. With keen psychological insight and vivid imagery, Dreiser crafts narratives that explore the complexities of ambition, desire, and the relentless march of fate, epitomized in classic works such as "Sister Carrie" and "An American Tragedy." The collection not only highlights his narrative prowess but also situates his work within the broader literary context of realism and naturalism, where the human experience is influenced by environment and circumstance. Theodore Dreiser lived a life shaped by the very themes he explored in his fiction. Born into a poor immigrant family, Dreisers early experiences with poverty and social injustice fueled his advocacy for the underprivileged, becoming a prelude to his literary endeavors. His bold exploration of taboo subjects and unflinching portrayal of social issues made him a trailblazer in American literature, establishing a precedent for subsequent generations of writers. For readers seeking an authentic and unvarnished reflection of American life, Theodore Dreiser: Collected Works is indispensable. It invites a critical engagement with the societal forces that shape human existence while illuminating the universal struggles inherent in the human condition. This collection not only serves as an essential resource for scholars but also offers compelling narratives that resonate with contemporary readers.

This unique and meticulously edited collection of Theodore Dreisers greatest works includes:_x000D_ Novels:_x000D_ Sister Carrie_x000D_ Jennie Gerhardt_x000D_ The Financier_x000D_ The Titan_x000D_ The "Genius"_x000D_ An American Tragedy_x000D_ The Stoic_x000D_ Short Stories:_x000D_ Free and Other Stories_x000D_ Free_x000D_ McEwen of the Shining Slave Makers_x000D_ Nigger Jeff_x000D_ The Lost Phoebe_x000D_ The Second Choice_x000D_ A Story of Stories_x000D_ Old Rogaum and His Theresa_x000D_ Will You Walk Into My Parlor_x000D_ The Cruise of the Idlewild_x000D_ Married_x000D_ When the Old Century Was New_x000D_ The Mighty Burke_x000D_ Other Works:_x000D_ Twelve Men_x000D_ Hey Rub-a-Dub-Dub_x000D_ _x000D_

In Sister Carrie, Dreiser portrayed a changing society, writing about a young woman who flees rural life for the city (Chicago) and struggles with poverty, complex relationships with men, and prostitution. It sold poorly and was considered controversial because of moral objections to his featuring a country girl who pursues her dreams of fame and fortune through relationships with men.The book has since acquired a considerable reputation. It has been called the "greatest of all American urban novels." It was adapted as a 1952 film by the same name, directed by William Wyler and starring Laurence Olivier and Jennifer Jones."..When Caroline Meeber boarded the afternoon train for Chicago, her total outfit consisted of a small trunk, a cheap imita-tion alligator-skin satchel, a small lunch in a paper box, and a yellow leather snap purse, containing her ticket, a scrap of paper with her sisters address in Van Buren Street, and four dollars in money. It was in August, 1889.She was eighteen years of age, bright, timid, and full of the illusions of ignorance and youth. Whatever touch of regret at parting characterised her thoughts, it was certainly not for advantages now being given up. A gush of tears at her mothers farewell kiss, a touch in her throat when the cars clacked by the flour mill where her father worked by the day, a pathetic sigh as the familiar green environs of the village passed in review, and the threads which bound her so lightly to girlhood and home were irretrievably broken.."

Inspirada en un caso real, la novela cuenta la historia de Clyde Griffiths, un hombre de carácter débil, abúlico e indeciso, criado en la pobreza, que asesina a su novia embarazada, de la que se averguenza, para casarse con una mujer que puede abrirle las puertas del bienestar material y la posicion social que ambiciona. La obra fue llevada al teatro y en dos ocasiones al cine, la segunda de ellas con gran exito, bajo el titulo de Un lugar en el sol (1951) y con un reparto de lujo: Montgomery Clift y Elizabeth Taylor.

A landmark in American literature, presented in its complete and unexpurgated version. Dreiser's unsparing story of a country girl's rise to riches as the mistress of a wealthy man marked the beginning of the naturalist movement in America. Both its subject matter and Dreiser's objective, nonmoralizing approach made it highly controversial, and only a heavily edited version could be published in 1900. In this restored version, the truly revolutionary nature of Sister Carrie is made fully evident.