Arrowsmith / Elmer Gantry / Dodsworth

by Sinclair Lewis

Written at the height of his powers in the 1920s, the three novels in this volume continue the vigorous unmasking of American middle-class life begun by Sinclair Lewis in Main Street and Babbitt.

In Arrowsmith (1925) Lewis portrays the medical career of Martin Arrowsmith, a physician who finds his commitment to the ideals of his profession tested by the cynicism and opportunism he encounters in private practice, public health work, and scientific research. The novel reaches its climax as its hero faces his greatest challenges amid a deadly outbreak of plague on a Caribbean island.

Elmer Gantry (1927) aroused intense controversy with its brutal depiction of a hypocritical preacher in relentless pursuit of worldly pleasure and power. Through his satiric expos? of American religion, Lewis captured the growing cultural and political tension in the 1920s between the forces of secularism and fundamentalism.

Dodsworth (1929) follows Sam Dodsworth, a wealthy, retired Midwestern automobile manufacturer, as he travels through Europe with his increasingly restless wife, Fran. The novel intimately explores the unraveling of their marriage, while pitting the proud heritage of European culture against the rude vigor of American commercialism.

Genres: Fiction, Literature, Classics, Literary Fiction, American

1346 pages, Hardcover

First published August 26, 2002

About the author

Novelist Harry Sinclair Lewis satirized middle-class America in his 22 works, including Babbitt (1922) and Elmer Gantry (1927) and first received a Nobel Prize for literature in 1930.

Middle-class values and materialism attach unthinking George F. Babbitt, the narrow-minded, self-satisfied main character person in the novel of Sinclair Lewis.

People awarded "his vigorous and graphic art of description and his ability to create, with wit and humor, new types of characters."

He knowingly, insightfully, and critically viewed capitalism and materialism between the wars. People respect his strong characterizations of modern women.

Henry Louis Mencken wrote, "[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."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinclai...

Reviews

[ALLEN · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good deal in a Library of America volume -- the "other" of Sinclair Lewis's celebrated 1920s novels besides MAIN STREET and BABBITT. ARROWSMITH deals with a doctor-in-formation; Lewis wrote it partly to answer critics who said he had no "spiritual gifts" and partly because his own father was a physician and he knew the ropes and the ethical conflicts involved. ELMER GANTRY is the most free-wheeling, wide-swinging, and cynical: the story of a charlatanic salesman who makes himself into an Evangelical tent minister and almost believes himself. (It also made a terrific 1960 movie.) DODSWORTH has the reputation of being odd-man-out, but that may be unfair; it's a sensitive novel about a Midwestern car manufacturer who sells the plant, becomes rich, and tries to patch up an ailing marriage by taking a European "grand tour" with his dissatisfied wife. (It, too, made a terrific movie -- back in 1936.) This is an ideal purchase for the reader who has assayed MAIN STREET and/or BABBITT and is interested in more.

[Bohdan Pechenyak · Rating 5 out of 5]

A trio of some of the best novels by Sinclair Lewis, “the rebel from the Main Street”. Taking a country doctor ( not unlike his own father ), a typical fundamentalist preacher vying for wealth and fame, and a big automotive industrialist as his protagonists, Lewis paints a vivid portrait of his era, characterized by mercantilism, boosterism, pursuit of profits and advantage, and the counter trends of pursuit of truth in science, pursuit of truth in relationships, seeking cultural roots in Europe, and awakening to the truth of the deeper self.

[J · Rating 5 out of 5]

Elmer Gantry (1927) by Nobel laureate Sinclair Lewis is a scathing portrayal Elmer Gantry (1927) by Nobel laureate Sinclair Lewis is a scathing portrayal of a sham preacher. Elmer Gantry understands people’s yearnings and fears, he is able to glean useful passages from scripture for his sermons, he is a powerful orator, energetic, and charismatic. He uses his talents to purportedly save souls, but his primary motive is always about his own welfare. He convincingly projects a pious public persona and is quick to accept any success as divinely ordained, but privately he is unfaithful to both man and his God. While the story is principally about Elmer Gantry, I found Reverend Frank Shallard the more interesting character. Shallard has deep doubts about the divine and exclusive claims of Christianity, and he sees that most so called Christians don’t even come close to following Jesus’s own teachings. Despite his loss of belief in a supernatural God, he still loves the kind and communal aspects of Christianity. He says, “Though I do think our present churches are as absurd as a belief in witchcraft, yet I believe there could be a church free of superstition, helpful to the needy, and giving people that mystic something larger than reason, that sense of being uplifted in common worship of an unknowable power for good.” In that spirit he continues to care for his congregation and works conscientiously on their behalf. Shallard is honest with himself and others and isn’t afraid to divulge his religious skepticism even at the expense of endangering his standing among his fellow pastors and his Church. He is the kind of heroic character in an untenable ethical position that could have been written by Graham Greene, and I wonder if Greene was aware of this work by his famous contemporary. The story of Elmer Gantry is of course highly relevant in America today where iterations of Elmer Gantry have been willing to use religion as a tool for their own ends, from individual greed and sexual exploitation to attempts at undermining the separation of church and state and the support of white Christian nationalism. Elmer Gantry is an important and timely work that I highly recommend.

[Deborah Schuff · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think Sinclair Lewis is a good writer, even if my high school teacher from decades back didn't think much of Babbitt. I enjoyed re-reading Arrowsmith, thought Elmer Gantry was such a scoundrel, and felt so badly for Dodsworth and am very happy that he found a good second life for himself.

[Paul Childs · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got this from the library because I wanted to read Dodsworth, which I had never found in print before. I was hoping it would be as good as Arrowsmith and Elmer Gantry had been.

Have had the book for almost 2 months now and I don't think it will be finished when it gets back to the library. I am having trouble getting into it. The main characters don't seem to be as interesting as in his other books, so it is harder to be interested in what is going to happen next.

I don't dislike the book, but would say that there are more interesting books by Sinclair Lewis to read if one wanted to read one.

[Annette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow! This book was "required reading" (along with ALL THE KING'S MEN) for the right to vote in America according to a WASHINGTON POST blogger (Kathleen Parker, October 16, 2011 12:00 AM) She was blasting the Texas preacher that decried Romney's right to run for president because he was Mormon. Elmer Gantry reveals the extremes in religious corruption--corruption brought on by the progressive addictions to power and money, i.e. priestcraft. The end of the book was a surprise, in a way, but true to life--unfortunately. Yes, every (Christian) American should read this book.

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tour-de-force of American popular religion. As true today as when it was written. Only the names have changed and the elements of religion are mixed into new combinations of the the same old stuff. The author's probing of his character's psyches is relevant today. I first saw the movie in 1960, and it stayed with me. Now that I have read the book, I understand more my own spiritual missteps.

[Barbara Greene · Rating 4 out of 5]

Only read Elmer Gantry, but this was the only version I found on Goodreads. Saw the movie many years ago and Mark said the book was a good read. I could not help but think of Bill Clinton. Charismatic personality with great needs for love. This book was also a good take on the role of religion in the early 20th century.

[Cassandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Can't help but feel that Dodsworth was written to satisfy a bet Sinclair Lewis made with himself: "Can I, in ~85 years, provoke Cassandra de Kanter of Steilacoom, Washington, to root for the dissolution of a marriage and for the abiding happiness of a wealthy industrialist?" And, damn it, he could.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Elmer Gantry: Exploration of religion (specifically Fundamentalism), belief and manipulation with sarcasm and sly humor. Written in the mid 1920s, issues like the role of religion in politics and the fallibility of those loudest in proclaiming their morality are issues we still talk about now. It would have been a much better read if it were much shorter.

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Truly horrifying book about Christian ministry that carefully chronicles several ages of my pastoral hypocrisy. Should be required reading for all Bible college and seminary students. Thanks to Dustin Bagby for the recommendation.

[Lynne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I only read Dodsworth.....slow to start, but I really "got into" this story. I was never bored with the details and Lewis did a wonderful job of telling the story through Sam Dodsworth's thoughts. Well done. Great writing.

[Katherine]

5/3/03. Library.