Main Street - Softcover

Lewis, Sinclair

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1453735216 ISBN 13: 9781453735213

Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2010

Synopsis

Harry Sinclair Lewis (February 7, 1885 – January 10, 1951) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and playwright. In 1930, Sinclair Lewis became the first American to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, "for his vigorous and graphic art of description and his ability to create, with wit and humor, new types of characters." Sinclair Lewis’s complete works, including Main Street, are known for their insightful and critical views of American society and capitalist values, as well as their strong characterizations of modern working women. Main Street by Sinclair Lewis is generally considered to be Lewis's most significant and enduring work, along with its 1922 successor Babbitt. Some small-town residents resented their portrayal and Main Street was banned by the public library of Alexandria, Minnesota. Because of the popularity acquired by Sinclair Lewis and Main Street, high-school teams from his hometown of Sauk Centre, Minnesota, began to be called the Main Streeters as early as the 1925–26 school year. This name was essentially given to the town by the nearby towns at school events. The Sauk Centre High School still goes by the name in a tribute to Sinclair Lewis. Sinclair Lewis chose Gopher Prairie, Minnesota, a fictionalized version of Sauk Centre, Minnesota, Lewis's hometown as the setting for Main Street. Main Street takes place in the 1910s, with references to the start of World War I, the United States' entry into the war, and the years following the end of the war, including the start of Prohibition. Because Main Street was published in 1920, Sinclair Lewis could not have written about the Roaring Twenties or the Great Depression to follow, but his characters give voice to many of the social and cultural attitudes which would become significant in the years to come. Main Street is important for a number of reasons - among them is the portrayal of a strong female protagonist, and what one might now call feminist themes by a male writer, Harry Sinclair Lewis.

About this title

About the Author:

Harry Sinclair Lewis (February 7, 1885 – January 10, 1951) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and playwright. In 1930, he became the first writer from the United States to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature, which was awarded "for his vigorous and graphic art of description and his ability to create, with wit and humor, new types of characters." His works are known for their insightful and critical views of American capitalism and materialism between the wars. He is also respected for his strong characterizations of modern working women. H.L. Mencken wrote of him, "[If] there was ever a novelist among us with an authentic call to the trade ... it is this red-haired tornado from the Minnesota wilds."

He has been honored by the U.S. Postal Service with a Great Americans series postage stamp.

From the Inside Flap:

This classic by Sinclair Lewis shattered the sentimental American myth of happy small-town life with its satire. "Main Street attacks the conformity and dullness of early 20th Century midwestern village life in the story of Carol Milford, the city girl who marries the town doctor. Her efforts to bring culture to the prairie village are met by a wall of gossip, greed, and petty small-minded bigotry. Lewis's complex and compelling work established him as an important character in American literature.

About this edition

• Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 1453735216
• ISBN 13: 9781453735213
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 376