McTeague

"One of the great works of the modern American imagination." - Alfred Kazin. When a charlatan and his money-hungry wife win the lottery, their good fortune rapidly turns sour in this riveting tale of avarice, degeneration, and death. Based on a true incident that occurred in San Francisco at the turn of the 20th century, this cult classic was among the earliest novels in American literature to present a compelling, realistic view of human nature at its most basic level. AUTHOR: Like Zola and the European naturalists, Frank Norris (1870 1902) focused on writing realistic fictional explorations of the effects of heredity and environment. In the course of his tragically brief career, he came to view the novel as a mode of social betterment. Works such as McTeague, The Octopus, and The Pit offer authentic and highly readable portraits of California life at the turn of the 20th century.