Frank Norris
1) McTeague
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First published in 1899, this graphic depiction of urban American life centers around its title character, McTeague, a dentist practicing in San Francisco at the turn of the century. While at first content with his life and friendship with an ambitious man named Marcus, McTeague eventually courts and marries Trina, a frugal young woman who wins a large sum of money in a lottery. The greed of the majority of the characters in the novel creates a chain...
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From the author of McTeague: The classic novel of corporate corruption and violent rebellion in the railroad industry. On May 11, 1880, at a San Joaquin Valley ranch, a shootout between tenant farmers and a sheriff's posse left seven dead. The dispute was over land rights. The law was acting in the service of the Southern Pacific Railroad. This tragedy marked the beginning of the end for the American frontier, and it became the inspiration for Frank...
3) The Octopus
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Inspired by The Mussel Slough Tragedy, an 1880 dispute over land titles between California settlers and the Southern Pacific Railroad, Frank Norris' 1901 novel, "The Octopus: A California Story", is the first part in the unfinished trilogy, "The Epic of Wheat". The novel depicts the conflict between wheat farmers in the San Joaquin Valley and the Pacific and Southwestern railroad. When the railroad attempts to take possession of land leased to and...
4) The Pit
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This edition includes a modern introduction and a list of suggested further reading. The story of Frank Norris's The Pit could be taken from today's headlines: a businessman begins speculating in the commodities market on a small scale until, overcome by greed, addicted to the art of the deal, and harboring an ever-increasing appetite for power, he gambles recklessly in the market while the fortunes of farmers and small investors hang in the balance....
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A couple's life and love are destroyed when they win the lottery in this tragic tale of turn-of-the-century San Francisco. McTeague and Trina are in love, and with the modest income from McTeague's dentistry office, their needs are few. But when Trina wins a small fortune from a lottery ticket, jealousy and distrust begin to unravel their happy home. As tension erupts between McTeague and Trina's cousin Marcus, Trina's impulse to save her winnings...
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The bestselling novel of financial speculation in the Progressive Era from the author of McTeague. Curtis Jadwin had to compete with other suitors to secure his wife's hand in marriage, but after a year of marital bliss, he finds himself captivated by another: the high-stakes competition at the Chicago Board of Trade. At first merely dabbling in wheat speculation, Jadwin soon becomes obsessed with making deals and the roaring excitement of the trading...
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Published posthumously in 1909, this collection of sixteen short stories, to quote from a contemporary New York Times review, "makes evident once more the loss American literature sustained in the early death of the author." Contents include "The Third Circle," "The House with the Blinds," "A Defense of the Flag," and "The Guest of Honour."
8) Blix
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This short 1899 romance was based on Norris's courtship of his wife. It features a San Francisco journalist, Condy Rivers, who falls in love with the daughter of a wealthy family that believes him to be very much beneath her. Willa Cather praised the novel as "all wheat and no chaff."
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From the author of The Octopus comes this compelling novel about an intrepid explorer who returns from an Arctic expedition to earn the love of an independent woman. A naturalist, Frank Norris was intrigued by the new science of psychology, which is reflected in this novel as he attempts to explore the power dynamic in a male-female relationship.
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Published posthumously, this 1903 collection of Norris's literary criticism was assembled by his wife Jeanette. In the title essay, Norris argues that serious writers have an obligation to present their readers with the truths of daily life, and not with idle fantasies of romance or escape. He also discusses important issues of western literature and the closing of the American frontier.
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Set in San Francisco, Vandover is the story of a rich young man who desires to become a great artist but lacks the ambition to do so. Suicide, death, gambling, and a lost fortune swirl around the young man, reducing him to menial work in the very slums he once owned. Vandover is an early example of American literary naturalism.
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Published after the author's untimely death, this 1904 collection includes stories that originally appeared in publications between 1901 and 1903. The title story was made into the film A Corner in Wheat. Also included are "A Bargain with Peg-Leg," "Two Hearts that Beat as One," and "The Dual Personality of Slick Dick Nickerson."
13) Colonizing Mars
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What if you could move to Mars permanently and live there comfortably? You might have to work like a modern-day pioneer, but you would have complete freedom and live in comfortable surroundings, other than the occasional trip outside in a spacesuit. Thousands of people will be able to. SpaceX has a completely reusable rocket called Starship, which is capable of carrying 100+ tons (over 220,000 lbs) to Mars at a relatively reasonable cost. Elon Musk,...
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Español
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Clásicos de literatura del Oeste para observar la transformación del sueño americano.
El sueño pastoral americano se ha transformado en un crudo sueño de poder y riqueza. ¿Cómo ha sucedido?
El progreso y las tecnologías transformaron nuestra sociedad.
Estos autores clásicos muestran el impacto de la llegada del ferrocarril (Frank Norris). La aparición de una mujer en medio del Oeste (Stehen Crane). La muerte por congelación de un hombre...