Theodore Dreiser wrote American naturalist fiction about ambition, money, sexuality and the social pressures shaping individual choices. Sister Carrie follows Caroline Meeber as she leaves small-town Wisconsin for Chicago and becomes involved with men whose money and status initially seem to offer security. Her movement towards success in the theatre is set against the decline of George Hurstwood, creating a novel about desire and economic instability rather than simple moral punishment. An American Tragedy centres on Clyde Griffiths, whose ambition and relationship with a working-class woman lead towards crime and trial. The Financier begins the Trilogy of Desire, based loosely on financier Charles Yerkes and focused on business power and speculation. Dreiser's prose can be detailed and deliberately unsentimental, with institutions and material conditions shaping character behaviour. Sister Carrie is the strongest entry for readers of urban realism; An American Tragedy offers a darker crime-and-class narrative. Read more Less
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