An American Tragedy

An American Tragedy is a famous American novel, by Theodore Dreiser. Written in 1925, the book is the story of a young man Clyde Griffiths, whose troubles with women and the law take him from his religious upbringing in Kansas City to the fictional town of Lycurgus, New York. Among Clyde's love interests are the materialistic Hortense Briggs, the charming farmer's daughter Roberta Alden and the aristocratic Sondra Finchley. The book is naturalistic in style, containing subject matter such as religion, capital punishment and abortion, and attempting to shed light on societal evils.

Related Topics:
Theodore Dreiser - 1925 - Clyde Griffiths - Kansas City - Lycurgus - New York - Hortense Briggs - Roberta Alden - Sondra Finchley

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The well-known film A Place in the Sun is based on An American Tragedy.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Dreiser based the book on the notorious 1906 criminal case, in which Chester Gillette was convicted of killing his ex-girlfriend, Grace Brown, at Big Moose Lake in the Adirondacks in upstate New York. The murder trial drew international attention as Brown's love letters to Gillette were read in court. Theodore Dreiser saved newspaper clippings about the case for some 15 years before writing his novel. Clyde Griffiths was based on Chester Gillette, right down to the same initials.

Related Topics:
1906 - Chester Gillette - Grace Brown - Big Moose Lake - Adirondacks - Upstate New York

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~