McTEAGUE : (Modern Library, 1899 Edition)

Frank Norris; (Henry S. Pancoast, Introduction)

Published by Boni and Liveright, Inc., New York, NY, 1899

About this Item

Text/Very Good; w/marginalia to the Introduction, pgs 1 - 17 & pg 442. Gilt embossed, wine leather boards/NF; sound w/rubs to spine edge. DJ/None. PO name fEP & bookstore sticker to rear cover verso. 1899 First Edition. Outstanding novel --- adapted 1916 as "McTeague", again in 1924 as "Greed", and, to opera (1992) by William Bolcom. Author Frank Norris Benjamin (1870 - 1902) of Harvard's English Dept, describes life of 3 deeply intertwined lives, each held hostage to fundamental values entrenched in the social class they were born into --- lower & middle-class --- as 1900's San Francisco falls apart economically. Tale of two buddies, McTeague & Marcus, both attracted to Tina (distant cousin to Marcus). Marcus withdraws, voluntarily, from the courtship scene, and McTeauge & Tina marry. McTeauge, a practicing dentist with neither schooling nor intellectual & social skills, would extract teeth with a yank of his fingers! After the economic collapse, McTeague is unemployed. Thrifty Tina wins a $5,000.00 lottery (like some $15,000 in 2024!) --- believing it was a husband's job to support the family, she places the funds into a separate account with her uncle (father to Marcus), and later then transfers the gold coins to play with in her room. Denying aid to McTeauge even as he can not feed himself, McTeague beats her to death and absconds with the monies! Marcus joins the manhunt for McTeague --- catches him in Death Valley, but is mortally wounded by his McTeague! He handcuffs his dying self to his buddy --- so, alone & stranded in a desolate desert, McTeauge is now, physically and permanently, tied to Marcus! Seller Inventory # 020166

Bibliographic Details

Title: McTEAGUE : (Modern Library, 1899 Edition)

Publisher: Boni and Liveright, Inc., New York, NY

Publication Date: 1899

Binding: Hard Cover/Leatherette

Condition: Very Good

Dust Jacket Condition: No Jacket

Edition: First Edition