Theodore Dreiser (1871–1945)
Author of Sister Carrie
About the Author
Theodore Dreiser was born in Terre Haute, Indiana, the twelfth of 13 children. His childhood was spent in poverty, or near poverty, and his family moved often. In spite of the constant relocations, Dreiser managed to attend school, and, with the financial aid of a sympathetic high school teacher, show more he was able to attend Indiana University. However, the need for income forced him to leave college after one year and take a job as a reporter in Chicago. Over the next 10 years, Dreiser held a variety of newspaper jobs in Pittsburgh, St. Louis, and finally New York. He published his first novel, Sister Carrie in 1900, but because the publisher's wife considered its language and subject matter too "strong", it was barely advertised and went almost unnoticed. Today it is regarded as one of Dreiser's best works. It is the story of Carrie, a young woman from the Midwest, who manages to rise to fame and fortune on the strength of her personality and ambition, through her acting talent, and via her relationships with various men. Much of the book's controversy came from the fact that it portrayed a young woman who engages in sexual relationships without suffering the poverty and social downfall that were supposed to be the "punishment" for such "sin." Dreiser's reputation has increased instrumentally over the years. His best book and first popular success, An American Tragedy (1925), is now considered a major American novel, and his other works are widely taught in college courses. Like Sister Carrie, An American Tragedy also tells the story of an ambitious young person from the Midwest. In this case, however, the novel's hero is a man who is brought to ruin because of a horrible action he commits - he murders a poor young woman whom he has gotten pregnant, but whom he wants to discard in favor of a wealthy young woman who represents luxury and social advancement. As Dreiser portrays him, the young man is a victim of an economic system that torments so many with their lack of privilege and power and temps them to unspeakable acts. Dreiser is also known for the Coperwood Trilogy - The Financier (1912), The Titan (1914), and the posthumously published The Store (1947). Collectively the three books paint the portrait of a brilliant and ruthless "financial buccaneer." Dreiser is associated with Naturalism, a writing style that also includes French novelist Emile Zola. Naturalism seeks to portray all the social forces that shape the lives of the characters, usually conveying a sense of the inevitable doom that these forces must eventually bring about. Despite this apparent pessimism, Dreiser had faith in socialism as a solution to what he saw as the economic injustices of American capitalism. His socialist views were reinforced by a trip to the newly socialist Soviet Union, and in fact, Dreiser is still widely read in that country. There, as here, he is seen as a powerful chronicler of the injustices and ambitions of his time. Dreiser officially joined the Communist Party shortly before his death in 1945. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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Series
Works by Theodore Dreiser
Sister Carrie: An Authoritative Text, Backgrounds and Sources, Criticism (A Norton Critical Edition) (1970) 995 copies, 19 reviews
Dreiser-Mencken Letters: The Correspondence of Theodore Dreiser and H. L. Mencken 1907-1945 (1986) 17 copies
Harlan Miners Speak: Report on Terrorism in the Kentucky Coal Fields (1970) — Editor, some editions — 12 copies
Delphi Collected Works of Theodore Dreiser (Illustrated) (Delphi Series Eight Book 25) (2017) 7 copies
Racconti 3 copies
Valik novelle 3 copies
Life, Art and America. 3 copies
Theodore Dreiser (A Laurel Reader) 3 copies
Old Rogaum and His Theresa 3 copies
Das "Genie" : Roman Bd. 2 [...] 2 copies
Free 2 copies
Carolina 2 copies
Søster Carrie : roman / B.2 2 copies
Søster Carrie : roman / B.1 2 copies
Il cammino di una donna 1 copy
Hoosier holiday 1 copy
Der Titan 1 copy
Finančník 1 copy
Tytan 1 copy
Phantom Gold Erzählungen 1 copy
Søster Carrie. Bind 1 +2 1 copy
Titán 1 copy
Pieniądz i zdrada 1 copy
the bulward 1 copy
short stories 1 copy
TABLO TRAGJIKE 1 copy
O TRAGEDIE AMERICANA VOL1 1 copy
the titan 1 copy
the financier 1 copy
The "Genius" (1915). By: Theodore Dreiser: The "Genius" is a semi-autobiographical novel by Theodore Dreiser, first… (2017) 1 copy
the genius 1 copy
Jennie gerhard 1 copy
EL GENIO 1 copy
Phantom Gold. Erzählungen. 1 copy
Važas : [stāsti] 1 copy
A SOLTEIRA 1 copy
Will You Walk into My Parlor 1 copy
Married 1 copy
A Story of Stories 1 copy
Zora 1 copy
The Second Choice 1 copy
Theodore Dreiser Anthology 1 copy
Ambiciones que matan 1 copy
My Brother Paul, and W.L.S 1 copy
Smith's Magazine July 1913 1 copy
Titans 1 copy
Libero 1 copy
Das Genie Erster Band 1 copy
Una tragèdia americana. 1 copy
Associated Works
The Arbor House Treasury of Horror and the Supernatural (1981) — Contributor — 202 copies, 3 reviews
An American Album: One Hundred and Fifty Years of Harper's Magazine (2000) — Contributor — 140 copies, 1 review
Writing New York: A Literary Anthology (Expanded 10th-Anniversary Edition) (2008) — Contributor — 95 copies, 1 review
The Glorious American Essay: One Hundred Essays from Colonial Times to the Present (2020) — Contributor — 91 copies
The Heath Anthology of American Literature, Concise Edition (2003) — Contributor — 69 copies, 1 review
Published and Perished: Memoria, Eulogies, and Remembrances of American Writers (2002) — Contributor — 40 copies, 1 review
Lapham's Quarterly - Lines of Work: Volume IV, Number 2, Spring 2011 (2011) — Contributor — 30 copies, 2 reviews
Once Upon a Crime: Historical Mysteries From Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine (1994) — Contributor — 27 copies
The Tavern Lamps Are Burning: Literary Journeys through Six Regions and Four Centuries of New York State (1964) — Contributor — 21 copies
Democracy in Print: The best of the Progressive Magazine, 1909-2009 (2009) — Contributor — 14 copies
The Best Short Stories of 1916 and the Yearbook of the American Short Story (1916) — Contributor — 11 copies
Jurgen and the censor. Report of the Emergency committee organized to protest against the suppression of James Branch… (1920) — Contributor — 10 copies
The Best Short Stories of 1923 and the Yearbook of the American Short Story (1924) — Contributor — 9 copies
ESSENTIAL COLLECTION OF CLASSIC BANNED BOOKS — Contributor — 9 copies
Oh Excellent Air Bag: Under the Influence of Nitrous Oxide, 1799-1920 (2016) — Contributor — 7 copies, 1 review
Our Lives: American Labor Stories — Contributor — 6 copies
1935 Essay Annual — Contributor — 4 copies
The American Spectator : A Literary Newspaper, Vol. 1 No. 1 (November, 1932) — Editor — 3 copies
Modern Short Stories — Contributor — 3 copies
The songs of Paul Dresser — Introduction, some editions — 3 copies
Avon Modern Short Story Monthly No. 7 (14 Great stories by 14 Great Authors) (1943) — Contributor — 1 copy
The American Spectator : A Literary Newspaper, Vol. 1 No. 7 — Editor — 1 copy
The American Spectator : A Literary Newspaper, Vol. 1 No. 6 — Editor — 1 copy
The American Spectator : A Literary Newspaper, Vol. 1 No. 5 — Editor — 1 copy
The American Spectator : A Literary Newspaper, Vol. 1 No. 4 — Editor — 1 copy
The American Spectator : A Literary Newspaper, Vol. 1 No. 3 — Editor — 1 copy
90 Masterpieces You Must Read (Vol.1): Novels, Poetry, Plays, Short Stories, Essays, Psychology & Philosophy (2020) — Contributor — 1 copy
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Canonical name
- Dreiser, Theodore
- Legal name
- Dreiser, Theodore Herman Albert
- Other names
- DREISER, Theodore Herman Albert
DREISER, Theodore - Birthdate
- 1871-08-27
- Date of death
- 1945-12-28
- Burial location
- Forest Lawn Cemetery, Glendale, California, USA
- Gender
- male
- Nationality
- USA
- Birthplace
- Terre Haute, Indiana, USA
- Place of death
- Hollywood, California, USA
- Places of residence
- Chicago, Illinois, USA
St. Louis, Missouri, USA
New York, New York, USA
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
Mount Kisco, New York, USA - Education
- Indiana University
self-educated - Occupations
- novelist
short-story writer
poet
playwright
travel writer
essayist (show all 10)
reporter
editor
columnist
biographer - Relationships
- Dreiser, Helen Patges (wife)
Dresser, Paul (brother)
Dreiser, Vera (niece) - Organizations
- Chicago Globe
St. Louis Globe-Democrat
St. Louis Republic
Harper's Monthly
New York Daily News
Ev'ry Month (show all 10)
Delineator
American Spectator
Communist Party
National Committee for the Defense of Political Prisoners (chairman) - Awards and honors
- Award of Merit, American Academy of Arts and Letters
Chicago Literary Hall of Fame (2011)
Members
Discussions
Theodore Dreiser in George Macy devotees (July 2023)
1914: Dreiser - The Titan in Literary Centennials (November 2015)
Reviews
Lists
Isle Royale (1)
Five star books (1)
Awards
You May Also Like
Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 156
- Also by
- 59
- Members
- 12,847
- Popularity
- #1,823
- Rating
- 3.8
- Reviews
- 190
- ISBNs
- 829
- Languages
- 21
- Favorited
- 35
This has been on the shelf for awhile. It was published in 1900 and is an example of "naturalism" or realism. The story is of a country girl who flees rural life, going to Chicago but not finding work. She falls into a relationship of mistress to a single man and then runs to Canada and New York with married man. Carrie is eventually successful on the stage but comes to realize that happiness is not in Success. The characters in Dreisser's book can succeed without a firm moral code but there is also examples where not having a moral code does lead to ruin in the case of another. It has been called the "greatest urban novel". It was #33 on the Modern Library list of 100 best English novels of 20th century (1998).; I don't particularly like the novels title. Not sure if I think it is a great novel but perhaps it did contribute to the development of the novel with its naturalism/realism on the eve of The Victorian novel.… (more)