An American Tragedy

This landmark 1925 novel—the basis for the acclaimed 1951 film A Place in the Sun—is both a riveting crime story and a devastating commentary on the American dream.

One of The Atlantic’s Great American Novels of the Past 100 Years

Theodore Dreiser was inspired by a true story to write this novel about an ambitious, socially insecure young man who finds himself caught between two very different women—and two very different visions of what his life could be. Clyde Griffiths was born poor and is poorly educated, but his prospects begin to improve when he is offered a job by a wealthy uncle who owns a shirt factory. Soon he achieves a managerial position, and despite being warned to stay away from… Keep Reading