Arrowsmith, Elmer Gantry, Dodsworth (Library of America #133) [Hardcover]

Sinclair Lewis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 26, 2002

Written at the height of his powers in the 1920s, the three novels in this volume continue the vigorous unmasking of American middle-class life begun by Sinclair Lewis in Main Street and Babbitt. In Arrowsmith (1925) Lewis portrays the medical career of Martin Arrowsmith, a physician who finds his commitment to the ideals of his profession tested by the cynicism and opportunism he encounters in private practice, public health work, and scientific research. The novel reaches its climax as its hero faces his greatest challenges amid a deadly outbreak of plague on a Caribbean island.

Elmer Gantry (1927) aroused intense controversy with its brutal depiction of a hypocritical preacher in relentless pursuit of worldly pleasure and power. Through his satiric exposé of American religion, Lewis captured the growing cultural and political tension in the 1920s between the forces of secularism and fundamentalism.

Dodsworth (1929) follows Sam Dodsworth, a wealthy, retired Midwestern automobile manufacturer, as he travels through Europe with his increasingly restless wife, Fran. The novel intimately explores the unraveling of their marriage, while pitting the proud heritage of European culture against the rude vigor of American commercialism.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Published from 1925 through 1929, these represent some of Lewis's most noted works. His novels can be deceiving, as the simplicity of the style belies the seriousness of his subject.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Sinclair Lewis was born in 1885 in Sauk Centre, Minnesota, and graduated from Yale University in 1908. His college career was interrupted by various part-time occupations, including a period working at the Helicon Home Colony, Upton Sinclair’s socialist experiment in New Jersey. He worked for some years as a free lance editor and journalist, during which time he published several minor novels. But with the publication of Main Street (1920), which sold half a million copies, he achieved wide recognition. This was followed by the two novels considered by many to be his finest, Babbitt (1922) and Arrowsmith (1925), which was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1926, but declined by Lewis. In 1930, following Elmer Gantry (1927) and Dodsworth (1929), Sinclair Lewis became the first American author to be awarded the Nobel Prize for distinction in world literature. This was the apogee of his literary career, and in the period from Ann Vickers (1933) to the posthumously published World So Wide (1951) Lewis wrote ten novels that reveal the progressive decline of his creative powers. From Main Street to Stockholm, a collection of his letters, was published in 1952, and The Man from Main Street, a collection of essays, in 1953. During his last years Sinclair Lewis wandered extensively in Europe, and after his death in Rome in 1951 his ashes were returned to his birthplace.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Hardcover: 1346 pages
• Publisher: Library of America (August 26, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1931082081
• ISBN-13: 978-1931082082
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 6.4 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #898,936 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Partially Disappointing Classic, September 10, 2002

By 

Bill Corporandy (Yuba City, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Arrowsmith, Elmer Gantry, Dodsworth (Library of America #133) (Hardcover)

I loved the constant satirical wit and subtle depictions of character in Babbitt and Main Street (something of a forerunner of Friedan's The Feminine Mystique). Arrowsmith retains some of Lewis' virtues but it is a bit disappointing. Unlike the afforementioned novels, it is not primarily a satire but rather a medical bildungsroman. Martin Arrowsmith's character is subtly explored and his shortcomings and strengths closely examined. Lewis has some cogent criticisms to make of the commercialization of the medical establishment and here his habitual satirical bent seems appropriate but it does not always work when he takes occasional potshots at his main character, Martin Arrowsmith. George Babbit was an essentially satirical character that deserved Lewis' constant satirical attacks but the portrayal of Martin Arrowsmith seems at times out of focus, as if Lewis was not always sure if he wanted to stick with satire or just do a straight portrayal. Another criticism I have of the book is that the medical details occasionally seemed superfluous and plot details at times repetitive and monotonous. I think he could have trimmed about a hundred pages off this book. Arrowsmith is still worth reading and Martin Arrowsmith is an endearing character whose life story unfolds with much subtlety and insight on the nature of love, friendship, work, the struggle to maintain integrity in a commercial world, and the desire to do something meaningful in life.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Three of Sinclair Lewis' classic novels, October 5, 2002

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Arrowsmith, Elmer Gantry, Dodsworth (Library of America #133) (Hardcover)

Three of Sinclair Lewis' classic novels and true works of enduring American literature (Arrowsmith, Elmer Gantry, Dodsworth) are combined under one cover in this scholarly Library of America edition. "Arrowsmith" is the story of an idealistic physician who finds greed and corruption at every turn; "Elmer Gantry" is a historically controversial account of a cynical and selfish preacher using his trade to amass wealth and power; and "Dodsworth" is the story of a decaying marriage between an American industrialist and his wife as they travel through Europe. Complementing the great works of 1920's literature are a thoughtful chronology, and a brief yet insightful selection of informative notes on the texts. Published with acid free paper, this volume of Sinclair Lewis' classic fiction is a welcome and very strongly recommended addition to academic and community library collections.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dodsworth, an unexpected surprise, November 30, 2009

By 

G. Cummins "zelda1991" (Madison, AL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Arrowsmith, Elmer Gantry, Dodsworth (Library of America #133) (Hardcover)

I liked this book. I found it readable and compelling. I am glad that I finally read this Sinclair Lewis book. I plan on reading Main Street next. Wonder why I never read any of his works before. He's worth a try, at least for Dodsworth. I am now reading Fitzgerald's Tender is the Night. It is interesting - two Minnesotans observe interwar Europe with very different results.