Sinclair Lewis (1885–1951)
Author of Babbitt
About the Author
Harry Sinclair Lewis was born on February 7, 1885 in Minnesota. He was an American novelist, short-story writer, and playwright. In 1930, he became the first writer from the United States to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature. A lonely child, Lewis immersed himself in reading and diary writing. show more While studying at Yale University and living in writer Upton Sinclair's communal house, he wrote for Yale Literary Magazine and helped to build the Panama Canal. After graduating from Yale in 1908, Lewis began writing fiction, publishing 22 novels by the end of his career. His early works, while often praised by literary critics, did not reach popularity but with Main Street (1920), Babbitt (1922), Arrowsmith (1925), Elmer Gantry (1927), and Dodsworth (1929), Sinclair Lewis achieved fame as a writer. His style of choice was satire; he explored American small-town life, conformity, hypocrisy, and materialism. Sinclair Lewis was married and divorced twice. As his career wound down, he spent his later life in Europe and died in Rome on January 10, 1951. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Works by Sinclair Lewis
Main Street / Babbitt / Arrowsmith 6 copies
Sinclair Lewis Premium Collection (Our Mr. Wrenn / The Trail of the Hawk / The Job / The Innocents / Free Air / Main… (2018) 6 copies
Babbitt / Moths in the Arc Light / The Willow Walk / It Can't Happen Here / The Queen's Letter (1979) 4 copies
Free Air / Hermann Lauscher / On Overgrown Paths — Contributor — 2 copies
A Book of Prefaces 2 copies
Opere 2 copies
Nobel Prize Library 2 copies
Travel Is So Broadening 2 copies
The American village in a global setting selected papers from an interdisciplinary conference in honour of Sinclair… (2007) 2 copies
Собрание сочиненний. Том 3 1 copy
oil 1 copy
Собрание сочинений. Том 1 1 copy
You Know How Women Are 1 copy
Lewis Sinclair 1 copy
Собрание сочинений. Том 7 1 copy
Letters from Jack London, containing an unpublished correspondence between London and Sinclair Lewis. Edited by King… (1966) 1 copy
Собрание сочинений. Том 6 1 copy
Собрание сочинений. Том 4 1 copy
Собрание сочинений. Том 2 1 copy
Собрание сочинений. Том 8 1 copy
Babbitt / Arrowsmith 1 copy
Собрание сочинений. Том 5 1 copy
Собрание сочинений. Том 9 1 copy
The Watcher Across the Road 1 copy
Samples: A Book Containing Many Fine Pages from the Books to be Published by The Limited Editions Club in its Seventh… (1936) 1 copy
Virga Vay & Allan Cedar 1 copy
Arrowsmith, Volume 2 1 copy
[no title] 1 copy
Associated Works
The 50 Funniest American Writers: An Anthology of Humor from Mark Twain to The Onion (2011) — Contributor — 244 copies
Gentlemen, Scholars and Scoundrels: A Treasury of the Best of Harper's Magazine from 1850 to the Present (1959) — Contributor — 55 copies
The Good Old Days: A History of American Morals and Manners as Seen Through the Sears, Roebuck Catalogs (1940) — Introduction — 29 copies
The Best Short Stories of 1918 and the Yearbook of the American Short Story (1918) — Contributor — 12 copies
Oogst der tijden : keur uit de werken van schrijvers en dichters aller volken en eeuwen (1940) — Contributor — 10 copies
Jurgen and the Censor: Report of the Emergency Committee Organized to Protest Against the Suppression of James Branch… (1920) — Contributor — 10 copies
The Banned Books Compendium: 32 Classic Forbidden Books — Contributor — 9 copies
Best-In-Books, Volume 48: Dodsworth / Great Impersonation / Green Hat / Along With Other Short Stories and Excerpts (1961) — Contributor — 5 copies
A Reader for Writers — Contributor — 2 copies
Dystopia Boxed Set: 18 Dystopian Classics in One Edition — Contributor — 1 copy
7 Novel Dystopian Collection — Contributor — 1 copy
Twelve Great Modern Stories, A New Collection — Contributor — 1 copy
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Canonical name
- Lewis, Sinclair
- Legal name
- Lewis, Harry Sinclair
- Other names
- Lewis, Red
Graham, Tom - Birthdate
- 1885-02-07
- Date of death
- 1951-01-10
- Burial location
- Greenwood Cemetery, Sauk Centre, Minnesota, USA
- Gender
- male
- Nationality
- USA
- Country (for map)
- USA
- Birthplace
- Sauk Centre, Minnesota, USA
- Place of death
- Rome, Italy
- Cause of death
- advanced alcoholism
- Places of residence
- Sauk Centre, Minnesota, USA
Helicon Home Colony, Englewood, New Jersey, USA
Carmel, California, USA
Washington, D.C., USA
New York, New York, USA
Rome, Italy (show all 9)
Austen Riggs Center, Stockbridge, Massachusetts
Thorvale Farm, Williamstown, Massachusetts, USA
Barnard, Vermont, USA - Education
- Oberlin Academy
Yale University (AB|1908) - Occupations
- novelist
short-story writer
playwright
sold fiction plots to novelist Jack London
ghostwriter
editor (show all 12)
reporter
advertising manager
actor
secretary
janitor
columnist - Relationships
- Thompson, Dorothy (wife|divorced)
Lewis, Grace Hegger (wife|divorced)
Lewis, J. P. Sinclair (grandson)
Wharton, Edith (friend)
Acheson, Dean (friend)
Shirer, William L. (friend) (show all 8)
Kruif, Paul de (friend)
Jordan, Elizabeth Garver (editor) - Organizations
- American Academy of Arts and Letters (Literature ∙ 1935)
National Institute of Arts and Letters (vice president)
Helicon Home Colony, Englewood, New Jersey
Carmel-by-the-Sea, California writers' colony
Transatlantic Tales, New York, New York (assistant editor)
Daily Courier, Waterloo, Iowa (reporter) (show all 14)
Associated Press, San Francisco (staff writer)
Volta Review, Washington, D.C. (staff member)
Frederick A. Stokes (publisher), New York, New York (manuscript reader)
Adventure, New York, New York (assistant editor)
Publisher's Newspaper Syndicate, New York, NY (editor)
George H. Doran (publisher), New York, NY (editorial assistant, advertising manager, and full-time writer)
Newsweek (columnist)
Esquire (columnist) - Awards and honors
- Nobel Prize (Literature ∙ 1930)
First American to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature
National Institute of Arts and Letters (vice president)
American Academy of Arts and Letters (1935)
Litt.D., Yale University
U.S. Postal Service stamp - Agent
- Edith Haggard
Members
Reviews
Lists
Five star books (1)
Favourite Books (6)
Best Dystopias (1)
5 Best 5 Years (1)
Americans Abroad (1)
True Color (1)
stories at work (1)
Best Satire (1)
Midwestern Books (1)
Schwob Nederland (1)
discontinued (3)
Best First Lines (2)
1920s (4)
Actors (1)
Unread books (2)
AP Lit (2)
Out of Copyright (2)
Awards
You May Also Like
Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 110
- Also by
- 45
- Members
- 20,091
- Popularity
- #1,079
- Rating
- 3.8
- Reviews
- 422
- ISBNs
- 917
- Languages
- 21
- Favorited
- 75
Oddly, I remembered none of this book as I read it for a third time. It was far more boring than I thought it would be. Things I expected were not present. I think that some memories come from [b:A Doll's House|37793|A Doll's House|Henrik Ibsen|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1660268136l/37793._SY75_.jpg|10535173], but I'm not sure. Given that my memory of the book and play stretches back more than forty years, it's inevitable that some memories will meld or change.
Main Street is well written. Lewis is a master at building and then tearing down characters with satire. (Sometimes he bats you about the face with it.) However, I think he's a better writer when he's criticizing society outright. So, I was a bit disappointed. I think his immaturity as a writer is displayed quite prominently when [b:Main Street|11376|Main Street|Sinclair Lewis|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1308953459l/11376._SY75_.jpg|18537748] is placed next to other books like [b:Arrowsmith|11389|Arrowsmith|Sinclair Lewis|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1328006651l/11389._SY75_.jpg|1446230].
But, these are my foibles as an older person. I've noticed lately that I don't have the patience for young writers that I used to have. So, the rating stays the same as I gave it when I was in my teens and in my 20s.… (more)