Sinclair Lewis Remembered

Sinclair Lewis Remembered is a collection of reminiscences and memoirs by contemporaries, friends, and associates of Lewis that offers a revealing and intimate portrait of this complex and significant Nobel Prize–winning American writer. After a troubled career as a student at Yale, Sinclair Lewis turned to literature as his livelihood, publishing numerous works of popular fiction that went unnoticed by critics. With the 1920s, however, came Main Street, Lewis’s first critical success, which was soon followed by Babbitt, Arrowsmith, Elmer Gantry, and Dodsworth—five of the most influential social novels in the history of American letters, all written within one decade. Nevertheless, Lewis’s Nobel Prize for Literature in 1930 led to controversy. Writers such as Theodore Dreiser, William Faulkner, and Thomas Mann expressed their dissent with the decision. Unable to match his previous success, Lewis suffered from alcoholism, alienated colleagues, and embraced unpopular political positions. The nadir for Lewis’s literary reputation was Mark Schorer’s 1961 biography, Sinclair Lewis: An American Life, which helped to legitimize the dismissal of Lewis’s entire body of work. Recent scholarly research has seen a resurgence of interest in Lewis and his writings. The multiple and varied perspectives found in Sinclair Lewis Remembered, edited by Gary Scharnhorst and Matthew Hofer, illustrate uncompromised glimpses of a complicated writer who should not be forgotten. The more than 115 contributions to this volume include reminiscences by Upton Sinclair, Edna Ferber, Alfred Harcourt, Samuel Putnam, H. L. Mencken, John Hersey, Hallie Flanagan, and many others.

Carol Milford grows up in a mid-sized town in Minnesota before moving to Chicago for college. After her education, during which she’s exposed to big-city life and culture, she moves to Minneapolis to work as a librarian. She soon meets Will Kennicott, a small-town doctor, and the two get married and move to Gopher Prairie, Kennicott’s home town. Carol, inspired by big-city ideas, soon begins chafing at the seeming quaintness and even backwardness of the townsfolk, and their conservative, self-satisfied way of life. She struggles to try to reform the town in her image, while finding meaning in the seeming cultural desert she’s found herself in and in her increasingly cold marriage. Gopher Prairie is a detailed, satirical take on small-town American life, modeled after Sauk Centre, the town in which Lewis himself grew up. The town is fully realized, with generations of inhabitants interacting in a complex web of village society. Its bitingly satirical portrayal made Main Street highly acclaimed by its contemporaries, though many thought the satirical take was perhaps a bit too dark and hopeless. The book’s celebration and condemnation of small town life make it a candidate for the title of the Great American Novel. Main Street was awarded the 1921 Pulitzer Prize, but the decision was overturned by the prize’s Board of Trustees and awarded instead to Edith Wharton for The Age of Innocence. When Lewis went on to win the 1926 Pulitzer for Arrowsmith, he declined it—with the New York Times reporting that he did so because he was still angry at the Pulitzers for being denied the prize for Main Street. Despite the book’s snub at the Pulitzers, Lewis went on to win the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1930, with Main Street being cited as one of the reasons for his win.

E=artnow presents to you the complete novels by one of the greatest novelists of all time, Sinclair Lewis:_x000D_ Babbitt_x000D_ Free Air_x000D_ Main Street_x000D_ The Trail of the Hawk_x000D_ The Innocents_x000D_ The Job_x000D_ Our Mr. Wrenn_x000D_ Arrowsmith_x000D_ Mantrap_x000D_ Elmer Gantry_x000D_ The Man Who Knew Coolidge_x000D_ Dodsworth_x000D_ Ann Vickers_x000D_ Work of Art_x000D_ It Can't Happen Here_x000D_ The Prodigal Parents_x000D_ Bethel Merriday_x000D_ Gideon Planish_x000D_ Cass Timberlane_x000D_ Kingsblood Royal_x000D_ World So Wide_x000D_ Sinclair Lewis (1885-1951) was an American writer and playwright. In 1930, he became the first writer from the United States to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature. He is best known for his novels Main Street, Babbitt, Arrowsmith, and It Can't Happen Here. His works are known for their critical views of American capitalism and materialism in the interwar period. He is also respected for his strong characterizations of modern working women.

In this definitive biography of Sinclair Lewis (Main Street, Babbitt), Lingeman presents an empathetic, absorbing, and balanced portrait of an eccentric alcoholic-workaholic whose novels and stories exploded shibboleths with a volatile mixture of caricature and realism. Drawing on newly uncovered correspondence, diaries, and criticism, Lingeman gives new life to this prairie Mercutio out of Sauk Centre, Minnesota.

Sinclair Lewis was one of the most astute observers of American social and political life. Sinclair Lewis and American Democracy is a highly readable analysis of his novels. The book examines each of Lewis’s novels on key themes in the history of political thought and democracy including freedom and purpose, success and materialism, and nationalism and race. Lewis is revealed to be an unapologetic individualist and a fierce humanitarian.

Musaicum Books presents to you this unique collection, designed and formatted to the highest digital standards and adjusted for readability on all devices. BabbittFree AirMain StreetThe Trail of the HawkThe InnocentsThe JobOur Mr. WrennThingsMoths in the Arc LightThe Willow WalkNature, Inc.The Cat of the StarsThe Ghost PatrolThe Kidnaped MemorialSpeedYoung Man Axelbrod