Published in 1900, Sister Carrie follows its protagonist, Carrie, as she resolutely makes her way through the bustling city of Chicago in the hope of achieving her ultimate goal of a securing a better and more glamorous life for herself. Effectively illustrating his reputation as one of America’s greatest naturalists, Dreiser deviates from the established norms and moral values present in the Victorian era, and instead focuses his attention on accurately portraying the basic instincts that influence human behavior...

In Philadelphia, Frank Cowperwood, whose father is a banker, makes his first money by buying cheap soaps on the market and selling it back with profit to a grocer. Later, he gets a job in Henry Waterman & Company, and leaves it for Tighe & Company. He also marries an affluent widow, in spite of his young age. Over the years, he starts embezzling municipal funds. In 1871, the Great Chicago Fire redounds to a stock market crash, prompting him to be bankrupt and exposed. Although he attempts to browbeat his way out of being sentenced to jail by intimidating Mr Stener, politicians from the Republican Party use their influence to use him as a scapegoat for their own corrupt practices...

Cowperwood moves to Chicago with his new wife Aileen. He decides to take over the street-railway system. He bankrupts several opponents with the help of John J. McKenty and other political allies. Meanwhile, Chicago society finds out about his past in Philadelphia and the couple are no longer invited to dinner parties; after a while, the press turns on him too. Cowperwood is unfaithful many times. Aileen finds out about a certain Rita and beats her up. She gives up on him and has an affair with Polk Lynde, a man of privilege; she eventually loses faith in him...

This is a story of an innocent, caring, beautiful young girl from and extremely poor family who throughout her life is drawn into affairs with two different men from a much higher social class. How members of her family, the family of one of the wealthy men, and society in general react to her situation is the basis of this story.

"The only figure of literary repute who ever rated The "Genius" as first among the novels of Theodore Dreiser was Theodore Dreiser," literary historian Larzer Ziff observed. His fifth published novel, The "Genius" was actually the third novel Dreiser began work on and, as his most autobiographical work, remained the novel closest to his heart. He worked on it in stages over a four-year period. The credit he felt he deserved (and did not receive) for his honesty about sexual urges and damaged relationships and his original publisher's decision not to stand by the novel in the face of criticism contributed to his lifelong feeling that the book had never been given its due...

Loosely based on a true story, this is the tale of Clyde Griffiths. At a young age, Clyde realizes that money and influence can get him the finer things in life. As a young man, he finds himself torn between the poor but virtuous Roberta, and Sondra the wealthy socialite. Can there be a happy resolution to this love triangle? Follow Clyde throughout his young life as he struggles to figure out whether he can truly have everything he wants. This is volume 1 of 2. - Summary by Tatiana Chichilla

A book written by Theodore Dreiser detailing a history of his life and how he became a writer. - Summary by Michele Eaton

The saga of Clyde, Roberta, and Sondra continues in volume 2 of 2. Social-climbing Clyde Griffiths wants nothing more than to marry the wealthy Sondra Finchley and ascend to the highest levels of Upstate New York society. However, there is a glaring obstacle in his way: Roberta's pregnancy. Both had hoped to keep their illicit relationship a secret, but if Clyde can't find a doctor willing to help them, something must be done. Perhaps something drastic . . . The tense and thrilling conclusion to Dreiser's genre-defining novel of love, pain, the law, and the spirit. - Summary by Tatiana Chichilla

Theodore Dreiser was highly acclaimed for his novels and other writing. This non-fiction work takes place in many areas of New York City in the early 20th Century. Dreiser writes of lives packed into cramped tenements, of the likely end, but perhaps not, of an affair, of those who guided ships through turbulent waters, and of life in a home for retired seamen. We're taken to the new subways where track workers risked deadly accidents as they struggled to earn a living. Animal slaughter, the glory and heartbreak of song-writing, the shabby "sandwich man", deadly jealousy in Little Italy, and much more is vividly brought to life by this brilliant author.