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Elmer Gantry (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "ELMER GANTRY was drunk..." (more)
Key Phrases: Elmer Gantry, Sunday School, Brother Gantry (more...)

4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (37 customer reviews)

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Hardcover $33.95 In Stock. Published May 31, 1976	Hardcover, May 31, 1976	$33.95	$33.95	$28.79
Hardcover Available from these sellers. Published 1927	Hardcover, 1927	--	--	$22.99
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Paperback $7.95 In Stock. Published December 3, 2007	Paperback, December 3, 2007	$7.95	$4.50	$4.20
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Mass Market Paperback Available from these sellers. Published December 31, 1926 Mass Market Paperback: A smaller paperback commonly used for bestsellers and genre fiction.	Mass Market Paperback, December 31, 1926	--	--	$8.95
Audio, CD, Unabridged $80.30 In Stock. Published January 31, 2008	Audio, CD, Unabridged	$80.30	$69.30	$69.29
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Unknown Binding Available from these sellers. Published December 31, 1990	Unknown Binding, December 31, 1990	--	--	$2.50
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Editorial Reviews

Review

Novel by Sinclair Lewis, a satiric indictment of fundamentalist religion that caused an uproar upon its publication in 1927. The title character of Elmer Gantry starts out as a greedy, shallow, philandering Baptist minister, turns to evangelism, and eventually becomes the leader of a large Methodist congregation. Throughout the novel Gantry encounters fellow religious hypocrites, including Mrs. Evans Riddle, Judson Roberts, and Sharon Falconer, with whom he becomes romantically involved. Although he is often exposed as a fraud, Gantry is never fully discredited. -- The Merriam-Webster Encyclopedia of Literature --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Description

The portrait of an evangelist who rises to power within his church. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

Hardcover: 432 pages
Publisher: Harcourt, Brace and Company; 1st edition (1927)
Language: English
ASIN: B0008BXGV6

Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (37 customer reviews)

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,775,540 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)
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First Sentence:
ELMER GANTRY was drunk. Read the first page

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Elmer Gantry, Sunday School, Brother Gantry, Frank Shallard, Jim Lefferts, Banjo Crossing, Eddie Fislinger, Sister Falconer, Judson Roberts, New York, Sharon Falconer, Deacon Bains, Dean Trosper, Old Jud, Bishop Toomis, Cecil Aylston, Miss Falconer, Adelbert Shoop, Brother Elmer, Floyd Naylor, Reverend Gantry, Holy Ghost, Andrew Pengilly, Brother Shallard, Lulu Bains

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Citations (learn more)

This book cites 32 books:

Main Street (Signet Classics) by Sinclair Lewis in Front Matter, page 357, and Back Matter
The Old Testament by Schaffer Frank on page 120, and page 121
World So Wide by Sinclair Lewis in Front Matter, and Back Matter
Our Mr Wrenn (Dodo Press) by Sinclair Lewis in Front Matter
Billy Sunday: A Novel by Rod Jones on page 156

See all 32 books this book cites

100 books cite this book:

Main Street (Signet Classics) by Sinclair Lewis on 8 pages
Evangelicalism & the Future of Christianity by Alister McGrath on page 35, page 149, and Back Matter
America First!: Its History, Culture, and Politics by Bill Kauffman on page 121, page 126, and Back Matter
Go East, Young Man: Sinclair Lewis on Class in America by Sinclair Lewis on page 8, Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
Babbitt (Penguin Twentieth Century Classics) by Sinclair Lewis in Front Matter (1), Front Matter (2), and Front Matter (3)

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What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

	85% buy the item featured on this page: Elmer Gantry 4.5 out of 5 stars (37)
	5% buy Arrowsmith 4.2 out of 5 stars (43) $7.95
	3% buy It Can't Happen Here 4.2 out of 5 stars (56) $10.20

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Customer Reviews

37 Reviews

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(3)
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4.5 out of 5 stars (37 customer reviews)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Talented scoundrel takes to the pulpit, September 24, 2001

By	Stefan Jones (Suburbs of Portland, OR) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Elmer Gantry (Signet Classics) (Paperback)

Elmer Gantry begins this novel as a boozing, womanizing, college football player. Despite having a great speaking voice and dominating personality he has no interest in persuing a career as a minister. Peer pressure leads him to try, and he soon finds himself attending divinity school and headed to life as a man of the cloth.

Elmer's character can be summed up by once incident. After getting a doubt-ridden professor fired, someone leaves 30 dimes wrapped in a religious tract in Elmer's dorm room. He delightedly mines the tract for sermon ideas, and uses the 30 dimes to buy naughty postcards.

Besides following the rise, fall, and rise of hard working, talented, and utterly unprincipled Elmer, Sinclair Lewis's novel shows us the state of evangelical religion in the first decades of the 20th Century. We see back-country Baptist churches, traveling revival shows, "New Age" cults, and middle-of-the road Methodist congregations at work.

It's funny, and hair-raising, stuff. There's also a nice twist ending that puts it in the category of an Awful Warning novel.

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17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Ageless portrayal of the rise of a hypocrite, November 21, 1999

By	Robert S. Newman "Bob Newman" (Marblehead, Massachusetts USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Elmer Gantry (Signet Classics) (Paperback)

A lot of Sinclair Lewis can be read as social history in our days at the turn of the 21st century. Social mores and the whole tenor of society have changed dramatically since the days of his major works. But ELMER GANTRY still reads like a story of our times. Though it covers a period roughly stretching from 1902 to 1926, and America has been transformed since then, the basic idea of the novel---how a man, selfish, ignorant, bullying, and posing as a 'regular guy', can fool most of the people most of the time---is still very much relevant to us. Business was the heart of America in Lewis' day, and it still is. But a career model drawn from that sphere could be used in many other walks of life. ELMER GANTRY is about a man who uses religion and a Protestant church to rise socially, to get and abuse power for his own ends. From Elmer's evangelical college days with his drinking, womanizing, total lack of ability or interest in studies, and his lying and maneuvering to get what he wants, to the stunning but realistic conclusion to the book, Lewis paints a vibrant portrait of an unprincipled climber ; a man who will change any opinion, betray anybody, and do anything to get ahead. If we consider the sagas of TV evangelists in our days, the difference between their revealed hypocrisies and those written by Lewis is startlingly small. The sole difference was that in the 1920s, there was no television for Elmer Gantry to exploit.

Certain sections of the book read better than others--it is not of uniform quality---and sometimes you wonder why Lewis inserted a chapter here or there. I think particularly of the two chapters on the fate of Frank Shallard, Gantry's alter-ego. They seemed to be an afterthought, and the point was brutally taken, but for what purpose other than shock ? On the other hand, Lewis' use of the colloquial language of the times and inclusion of thousands of minor details of life in that era reveal a whole world which might, in the absence of ELMER GANTRY, have disappeared from our consciousness. On the whole, this is a powerful novel about an unscrupulous, offensive scoundrel which still resonates well in our day. The Gantrys of this world are endless. Unfortunately.

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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A penetrating look at a hypocritical preacher, May 24, 2000

By	"toddwylie" (Santa Barbara, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Elmer Gantry (Signet Classics) (Paperback)

In Babbit, Sinclair Lewis turns business into a religion. Whereas, in Elmer Gantry, Lewis turns religion into a business. Elmer Gantry is a very real portrayal of a man who is ecstatic about his religion, but it is all an outward show for profit. We might be tempted to think that the corruption evident in modern televangelists is a new occurence. Lewis proves us wrong. Lewis shows the entire spectrum of christian belief in this novel from hypocrisy, to agnosticism, to an abiding spiritual life. Despite the fact that Lewis is one of my favorite authors and this is a superior novel, there was one disappointment. Near the end of the book, Gantry is confronted by the book's one genuine believer. There was a lot of emotional tension in the scene, and I felt Lewis just let it slip away. It was an unsatisfying resolution after the build up. Beyond that one moment, It's one of the best works of fiction I have ever read.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Comedie Americaine takes a close look at taurofecalianism
Lewis' satirical portrait of a hypocritical preacher and con artist in the US of the early 20th century is one of his best known novels. Read more

Published 6 months ago by H. Schneider

5.0 out of 5 stars Elmer Gantry
Elmer Gantry was written in the 1920s, yet it is a a fantastic modern portrayal of how religion is fleecing the flock today. The characters really do come alive. Read more

Published 10 months ago by william bradford

3.0 out of 5 stars PARABLE FOR CORRUPTION
...EXCERPTED FROM "GOD'S COUNTRY" BY STEVEN TRAVERS

Sinclair Lewis exposed the corruption of Christian ministers in "Elmer Gantry". Read more

Published 10 months ago by Steven Travers

5.0 out of 5 stars Timeless and Relevent
A scathing look evangelicals and the dirty business of old time religion. The book stays relevant and is true to the nature of religion, politics, entertainment and the... Read more

Published 13 months ago by James V. Shrode

5.0 out of 5 stars Elmer Gantry - hate the sin, love the sinner
Truly classic mix of rampant cynicism, hypocrisy, greed, lust--and great insight into not only the spiritual depravity of man, but the true fruit of the spirit that a Christian... Read more

Published 14 months ago by Todd Stockslager

4.0 out of 5 stars Holds up
Sinclair Lewis created an immediately-controversial character with Elmer Gantry. And while Gantry may be deeply rooted within 1920s America, he remains as sadly relevant,... Read more

Published 15 months ago by Glenn Miller

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent!
I was very impressed with the order of Elmer Gantry. The book shipped quickly and arrived between the 7-14 day window. The service was professional. Read more

Published 22 months ago by H. Smith

4.0 out of 5 stars The Most Hated Novel in US History
When Elmer Gantry was published, author Sinclair Lewis received death threats, an ivitation to be lynched in Virginia, a warning to stay clear of New Hampshire or wind up in a... Read more

Published 23 months ago by Giordano Bruno

5.0 out of 5 stars A Timeless Classic... Can I get a hyprocritical AMEN!
Excellent read, extremely interesting and intelligent prose. Lewis has a field day exposing the sinful, sanctimonious world of evangelism in early twentieth century Mid-America... Read more

Published on August 6, 2007 by JoeyD

4.0 out of 5 stars Banned in Boston --
-- and Lewis's life threatened in other parts of the country. What better recommendation can there be for a work of fiction? Read more

Published on August 31, 2006 by wiredweird

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