Dreiser, Theodore 1871-1945

Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser ( Book )
511 editions published between 1850 and 2010 in 29 languages and held by 5,726 libraries worldwide
The story of a young woman from Wisconsin who goes to Chicago, becomes an actress, marries and moves to New York, and when her husband loses his job, returns to the stage.

An American tragedy by Theodore Dreiser ( Book )
473 editions published between 1925 and 2011 in 29 languages and held by 5,016 libraries worldwide
This novel tracks the process by which an ordinary young man is capable of committing a ruthless murder, and the further process by which social and political forces come into play after his arrest. In Clyde Griffiths, the impoverished, restless offspring of a family of street preachers, we see a portrait of a man whose circumstances and dreams of self-betterment conspire to pull him toward an act of unforgivable violence.

Jennie Gerhardt by Theodore Dreiser ( Book )
192 editions published between 1911 and 2010 in 21 languages and held by 2,808 libraries worldwide
Jennie Gerhardt was Theodore Dreiser's second novel and his first true commercial success. Today it is generally regarded as one of his three best novels, along with Sister Carrie and An American Tragedy. But the text of Jennie Gerhardt heretofore known to readers is quite different from the text as Dreiser originally wrote it. In the tradition of the University of Pennsylvania Dreiser Edition, James L. W. West III has recaptured the text as it was originally written, restoring it to its complete, unexpurgated form. As submitted to Harper and Brothers in 1911, Jennie Gerhardt was a powerful study of a woman tragically compromised by birth and fate. Harpers agreed to publish the book but was nervous about its subject matter and moral stance. Jennie has an illegitimate child by one man and lives out of wedlock with another - but Dreiser does not condemn her for her behavior. As a requirement for publication, Harpers insisted on cutting and revising the text. Although Dreiser fought against many of the cuts and succeeded in restoring some material, Harpers shortened the text by 16,000 words and completely revised its style and tone. These changes ultimately transformed Jennie Gerhardt from a blunt, carefully documented work of social realism to a touching love story merely set against a social background. Passages critical of organized religion and of the institution of marriage were reduced and altered. Perhaps most important, Jennie's point of view - her innate romantic mysticism - was largely edited out of the text. As a consequence, the central dialectic of the novel was skewed and the narrative thrown out of balance.

The financier by Theodore Dreiser ( Book )
174 editions published between 1912 and 2011 in 13 languages and held by 2,724 libraries worldwide
Explores the corruption of the American dream. Frank Cowperwood, a fiercely ambitious businessman, emerges as the very embodiment of greed as he relentlessly seeks satisfaction in wealth, women, and power. As Cowperwood deals and double-deals, betrays and is in turn betrayed, his rise and fall come to represent the American success story stripped down to brutal realities -- a struggle for spoils without conscience or pity.

The bulwark, a novel by Theodore Dreiser ( Book )
45 editions published between 1916 and 1999 in 7 languages and held by 2,070 libraries worldwide
The story of Quaker faith in the conflict of twentieth century materialism.

The Titan by Theodore Dreiser ( Book )
184 editions published between 1914 and 2010 in 15 languages and held by 2,058 libraries worldwide
THE SETTING IS CHICAGO AND NEW YORK IN THE AGE OF THE ROBBER BARONS; THE PROTAGONIST IS FRANK COWPERWOOD, ALREADY WEALTHY, BUT OUT TO BUILD A FINANCIAL EMPIRE VAST ENOUGH TO SATISFY HIS APPETITE. THE BOOK TRACES HIS CAREER AS HE SEEKS HIS GOAL-ONLY TO FIND HIS MARRIAGE DESTROYED, HIS MISTRESSES LOVELESS, HIS MANSIONS NO BETTER THAN MAUSOLEUMS AND HIS EVERY TRIUMPH A HOLLOW DEFEAT.

The genius by Theodore Dreiser ( Book )
124 editions published between 1915 and 2010 in 9 languages and held by 1,550 libraries worldwide
Thoroughly immersed in the turn-of-the-century art scene, The Genius explores the multiple conflicts between art and business, art and marriage, and between traditional and modern views of sexual morality.

Newspaper days by Theodore Dreiser ( Book )
94 editions published between 1921 and 2009 in 4 languages and held by 1,431 libraries worldwide

Best short stories. With an introd. by James T. Farrell by Theodore Dreiser ( Book )
57 editions published between 1918 and 2009 in 5 languages and held by 1,398 libraries worldwide
Five powerful and original stories: "Free," "The Second Choice," "Married," "Nigger Jeff," and "The Lost Phoebe."

Dreiser's Russian diary by Theodore Dreiser ( Book )
15 editions published between 1931 and 1996 in English and Yiddish and held by 1,381 libraries worldwide
Theodore Dreiser's Russian Diary is an extended record of the American writer's travels throughout the Soviet Union in 1927-28. Dreiser was initially invited to Moscow for a week-long observance of the tenth anniversary of the October Revolution. He asked, and was granted, permission to make a extended tour of the country. This previously unpublished diary is a firsthand record of life in the USSR during the 1920s as seen by a leading American cultural figure. It is a valuable primary source, surely among the last from this period of modern history.