Theodore Dreiser

Theodore Dreiser, born in Sullivan, Indiana in 1871, died 1945, was an author known for dealing with the gritty reality of life. From 1889-1890, he attended Indiana University before flunking out. Within a couple of years, he was writing for the Chicago Globe and then the St. Louis Globe-Democrat. In 1892 he married Sara White. Although they separated in 1909, they were never formally divorced.

His first novel, Sister Carrie (1900), told the story of a woman who fled her country life for the city (Chicago) and fell into a wayward life of sin. The publisher did little to promote the book, and it sold poorly. Dreiser took a job editing women's magazines until he was forced to resign in 1910 because of an inter-office romance. His second novel, Jennie Gerhardt[?] was published the following year. Many of Dreiser's subsequent novels dealt with social inequality.

His first commercial success was An American Tragedy[?] (1925), which was made into a film in 1931 and again in 1951.

Other works include the Trilogy of Desire about Frank Cowperwood, a fictionalized version of Charles Yerkes: The Financier[?] (1912) The Titan[?] (1914) and The Stoic[?] (completed posthumously in 1947).

In 2001, two of his books, Sister Carrie and An American Tragedy[?], would be named to the list of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century by the editorial board of the American Modern Library.

For more info see The International Theodore Dreiser Society (http://www.uncwil.edu/dreiser/).

External Links

e-texts of some of Theodore Dreiser's works:

• The Financier (http://www.abacci.com/books/book.asp?bookID=2557)
• Sister Carrie (http://www.abacci.com/books/book.asp?bookID=2274)
• The Titan (http://www.abacci.com/books/book.asp?bookID=2362)