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by Theodore Dreiser (Author)
The conclusion to the trilogy based on a real railway tycoon's life, with "an amazingly intricate description of high-rolling 19th-century finance" (The Wall Street Journal).
Based on the life of railway tycoon Charles Tyson Yerkes, the epic Trilogy of Desire weaves a tale of American capitalism through the rise and fall of Frank Cowperwood. Following The Financier and The Titan, the third novel follows Cowperwood as he heads across the sea to London for a chance to develop a new underground railway system. Though still married to his estranged wife, Aileen, he has found a new paramour in Berenice--among others. Doing what he does best, Frank puts his plans in motion to conquer London's transportation market, guaranteeing the bulk of the profits for himself. However, as his age begins to catch up with him, an illness makes it clear these are the last years of his life, and he must negotiate personal and financial challenges to make his lasting mark on the world--a quest that will ultimately be completed by one of the women in his life.Author Biography
Theodore Dreiser's An American Tragedy (1925) is nothing less than what the title holds it to be; it is the story of a weak-willed young man who is both villain and victim (the victim of a valueless, materialistic society) and someone who ultimately destroys himself. Dreiser modeled the story of Clyde Griffiths on a real-life murder that took place in 1906; a young social climber of considerable charm murdered his pregnant girlfriend to get her out of the way so that he could instead play to the affections of a rich girl who had begun to notice him. But An American Tragedy is more than simply a powerful murder story. Dreiser pours his own dark yearnings into his character, Clyde Griffiths, as he details the young man's course through his ambitions of wealth, power, and satisfaction. The Indiana-born Dreiser (1871-1945) has never cut a dashing or romantic swath through American literature. He has no Pulitzer or Nobel Prize to signify his importance. Yet he remains for myriad reasons: his novels are often larger than life, rugged, and defy the norms of conventional morality and organized religion. They are unapologetic in their sexual candor--in fact, outrightly frank--and challenge even modern readers. The brooding force of Dreiser's writing casts a dark shadow across American letters. Here in An American Tragedy, Dreiser shows us the flip side of The American Dream in a gathering storm that echoes with all of the power and force of Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment. Inspired by the writings of Balzac and the ideas of Spenser and Freud, Dreiser went on to become one of America's best naturalist writers. An American Tragedy is testimony to the strength of Dreiser's work: it retains all of its original intensity and force.
