{"product_id":"an-american-tragedy-9781513282329","title":"An American Tragedy","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eAn American Tragedy\u003c\/i\u003e (1925) is a novel by Theodore Dreiser. Written and rewritten over a number of years, \u003ci\u003eAn American Tragedy\u003c\/i\u003e is a weighty epic with a cleareyed vision of the decay at the heart of industrialized society. Based on the murder of Grace Brown in 1906, the novel proved controversial for its depiction of depravity and violence, but has endured as a classic of naturalist fiction and remains a powerful example of social critique nearly a century after its publication. A young Midwesterner bucks against his puritan upbringing, drinking with acquaintances and frequenting prostitutes when he isn't busy working any number of thankless jobs. As friends and lovers come and go, he fails to find footing in a society fueled by ambition and cunning. Forced to flee Kansas City after a deadly auto accident, Clyde moves to Chicago before settling in Lycurgus, New York, where he meets a young farmgirl named Roberta Allen. When she becomes pregnant, Clyde begins to feel his dreams of freedom fade, and longs for a way out of marriage. Desperate and confused, he turns to a beautiful socialite named Sondra Finchley, the daughter of a local factory owner. Clyde knows what he should do-marry Roberta, settle down, raise a family-but his reckless ways refuse to remain in the past. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Theodore Dreiser's \u003ci\u003eAn American Tragedy\u003c\/i\u003e is a classic of American literature reimagined for modern readers.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eDreiser, Theodore:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eTheodore Dreiser\u003c\/b\u003e (1871-1945) was an American novelist and journalist. Born in Indiana, Dreiser was the son of John Paul Dreiser, a German immigrant, and Sarah Maria Schanab, a Mennonite from Ohio who converted to Catholicism and was banished by her community. Raised in a family of thirteen children, of which he was the twelfth, Dreiser attended Indiana University for a year before taking a job as a journalist for the \u003ci\u003eChicago Globe\u003c\/i\u003e. While working for the \u003ci\u003eSt. Louis Globe-Democrat\u003c\/i\u003e, Dreiser wrote articles on Nathaniel Hawthorne and William Dean Howells, as well as interviewed such figures as Andrew Carnegie and Thomas Edison. In 1900, he published his debut novel \u003ci\u003eSister Carrie\u003c\/i\u003e, a naturalist portrait of a young midwestern woman who travels to Chicago to become an actress. Despite poor reviews, he continued writing fiction, but failed to find real success until \u003ci\u003eAn American Tragedy\u003c\/i\u003e (1925), a novel based on the 1906 murder of Grace Brown. Considered a masterpiece of American fiction, the novel grew his reputation immensely, leading to his nomination for the 1930 Nobel Prize in Literature, which ultimately went to fellow American Sinclair Lewis. Committed to socialism and atheism throughout his life, Dreiser was a member of the Communist Party of the United States of America and a lifelong champion of the working class.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Mint Editions","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50382786330898,"sku":"9781513282329","price":25.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_fc91f8f1-0c36-4730-a62a-7c0493311e0d.jpg?v=1728717863","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/an-american-tragedy-9781513282329","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}