Description:
This collection presents eleven of Dreiser's best tales, ranging from trenchant social analysis to penetrating character study.
One of Dreiser's most powerful stories, "N****r Jeff" was occasioned when Dreiser was forced to witness a lynching, an experience that disturbed him deeply.
Brief description:
Theodore Dreiser (1871-1945), American novelist, became known as one of the principal exponents of American naturalism, and in 1944, he was awarded the Merit Medal for Fiction by the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He began his writing career as a newspaperman, working in Chicago, St. Louis, and Pittsburgh. With the publication of The Financier in 1912, he was able to give up newspaper work and devote himself to writing. In addition to novels, Dreiser, a socialist, wrote several nonfiction books on political issues. He was born in Terre Haute, Indiana, and attended Indiana University.
Review Quotes:
"He is a great artist, and no other American of his generation left so wide and handsome a mark upon the national letters. American writing, before and after his time, differed almost as much as biology before and after Darwin. He was a man of large originality, of profound feeling, and of unshakable courage. All of us who write are better off because he lived, worked, and hoped."
-- "H. L. Mencken"