Jennie Gerhardt, Theodore Dreiser
Jennie Gerhardt, Theodore Dreiser
List: $19.95 | Sale: $13.97
Club: $9.97

Jennie Gerhardt
A Novel

Author: Theodore Dreiser

Narrator: Lloyd James

Unabridged: 13 hr 19 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 05/10/2016

Categories: Fiction, Classic


Synopsis

Jennie Gerhardt is the tragic story of an innocent, caring, beautiful young girl from an extremely poor family who throughout her life is drawn into affairs with two different men from a much higher social class. How members of her family, the family of one of the wealthy men, and society in general react to her situation is the basis of this classic story.Jennie Gerhardt was Theodore Dreiser’s first true commercial success and is generally regarded as one of his best novels.

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.

About Lloyd James

Lloyd James has been narrating since 1996, has recorded over six hundred books in almost every genre, has earned six AudioFile Earphones Awards, and is a two-time nominee for the prestigious Audie Award. His bestselling and most critically acclaimed performances include Elvis in the Morning by William F. Buckley, Jr., Ben Hur by Lew Wallace, Searching for Bobby Fischer by Fred Waitskin, and Mystic Warrior by Tracy and Laura Hickman. Lloyd's background as a performer includes extensive work in classical theater and folk music. He lives in Maryland with his wife and children.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Khanim on July 26, 2015

A touching story of a girl fighting the cruelities of the American life. Could not help crying in some parts. Love is not just loving. It is something more. This is what the book taught me.......more

Goodreads review by Fátima on July 07, 2021

Este livro fala-nos da vida de Jenni Gerhardt. Jenny é a segunda dos seis filhos do Sr. e Sra. Gerhardt, que têm ascendência alemã e professam a fé luterana. No início da história Jenny tem 18 anos e a sua família passa por várias dificuldades financeiras, sem dinheiro para fazer face às despesas reg......more

Goodreads review by Sue on November 18, 2018

Oh my word! What a beautiful novel. And that ending, I cried and cried. Such an amazing writer Dreiser is, this could be my all time favourite book. Searching for classics a while back I came across the novel, Jennie Gerhardt by Theodore Dreiser, both title and author completely unknown to me, and I......more

Goodreads review by Moon Rose (M.R.) on February 06, 2021

In all of nature there is only perfection. Seen as complete, it is breathlessly beautiful in its splendor. "No process is vile, no condition is unnatural."* Everything has its place. No separate part, or single entity when viewed as a whole. Each unit plays a distinct role, every performance a contr......more


Quotes

“The best American novel I have ever read, with the lonesome but Himalayan exception of Huckleberry Finn.” H. L. Mencken, journalist and social critic

“Jennie remains a true heroine who is willing to love, knowing she will become a social outcast. Hers is, Dreiser shows, a fully considered decision, albeit driven by need and distorted by the Victorian double standard, made in awareness of its consequences.” New York Times