An American Tragedy, Theodore Dreiser
An American Tragedy, Theodore Dreiser
19 Rating(s)
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An American Tragedy

Author: Theodore Dreiser

Narrator: Dan John Miller

Unabridged: 34 hr 12 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 07/19/2011

Categories: Fiction, Classic


Synopsis

An American Tragedy is the story of Clyde Griffiths, who spends his life in the desperate pursuit of success. On a deeper, more profound level, it is the masterful portrayal of the society whose values both shape Clyde's ambitions and seal his fate; it is an unsurpassed depiction of the harsh realities of American life and of the dark side of the American dream. Extraordinary in scope and power, vivid in its sense of wholesale human waste, unceasing in its rich compassion, An American Tragedy stands as Theodore Dreiser's supreme achievement.

First published in 1925 and based on an actual criminal case, An American Tragedy was the inspiration for the 1951 film A Place in the Sun, which won six Academy Awards and starred Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift.

About Theodore Dreiser

Theodore Dreiser was born in Terre Haute, Indiana, in 1871. The ninth child of German immigrants, he experienced considerable poverty as a child and was forced to leave home in search of work at the age of fifteen.

After briefly attending Indiana University, Dreiser found work as a reporter at the Chicago Globe. Later he worked for the St. Louis Globe-Democrat, the St. Louis Republic, and the Pittsburgh Dispatch, before moving to New York, where he worked for the New York World while attempting to establish himself as a novelist. Dreiser was influenced by such authors as Charles Edward Russell, David Graham Phillips, and Frank Norris. In fact, it was Norris, who was working for Doubleday at the time, who helped get Dreiser's first novel, Sister Carrie, published. However, the Doubleday owners disapproved of the novel's subject matter, so it was not promoted and therefore sold poorly.

Dreiser continued to work as a journalist as well as write for mainstream newspapers, such as the Saturday Evening Post. At the same time, his work was being published in such socialist magazines as the Call. However, unlike many of his literary friends, he never joined the Socialist Party. Dreiser's second novel, Jennie Gerhardt, was not published until 1911. With the support of the literary critic Floyd Dell, who considered Dreiser a major writer, Sister Carrie was republished in 1912. This was followed by two novels: The Financier and The Titan, which is about Frank Cowperwood, a power-hungry business tycoon. The Genius was published in 1915, but it was another ten years before Dreiser's greatest novel, An American Tragedy, appeared. The book is based on the Chester Gillette and Grace Brown murder case that took place in 1906.

In addition to novels, Dreiser, a socialist, wrote several nonfiction books on political issues, including Dreiser Looks at Russia, Tragic America, and America Is Worth Saving. Dreiser joined the American Communist Party just before he died in 1945.


Reviews

AudiobooksNow review by Sharon on 2007-05-24 16:26:41

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, a classic story that still reveals much of human nature as it was then and still is today. Highly recommended.

Goodreads review by Paul on January 04, 2011

I remember reading this one, years ago, in a really bad flat in Mapperley Park. It was so horribly dusty all the time. That was because I never dusted. And when I looked out of my window I saw a wall. And when I looked out of my other window, I saw a different wall. Much like the hero of this brilli......more

Goodreads review by Matthew on January 24, 2020

Wow! Quite an epic novel here! I can see why this one is a classic. At first, I was not sure how this one was going for me. As it is very long and hit a somewhat slow and repetitive patch about a third of the way through, I thought it was going to be 3 or 4 stars. But, with the way it was written, I......more

Goodreads review by Lori on July 19, 2008

Yes, I know this is Dreiser and I have heard all the caveats against reading him...His mundane style and his need of an editor...the pounding over the reader's head with his points... I was unprepared for the power of this prose to be sure. But the story overwhelmed me. The character of Clyde became r......more