Click for full-size.
Sister Carrie
by Dreiser, Theodore
- Used
- Hardcover
- first
- Condition
- As New with No dust jacket as issued
- Seller
-
Palatine, Illinois, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
Franklin Center, PA: The Franklin Library. As New with No dust jacket as issued. 1979. Limited Edition. First Printing. Leather. Publisher's full green leather, spine in five compartments separated by raised bands, gilt lettering or decoration in each compartment, intricate gilt borders and decoration on both covers, green moire silk endpapers, printed on archival paper, silk ribbon marker bound in. Illustrated with full-page B&W plates by Ben F. Stahl. Published under the auspices of The American Revolution Bicentennial Administration. . The volume is in perfect, pristine condition, unmarked, unread, tight, square and clean. AS NEW. . The 100 Greatest Masterpieces of American Literature Series. B&W Illustrations. Small 4to 9" - 11" tall. (ix), 490 pp .
Synopsis
Journalist-turned-author Theodore Dreiser’s novel Sister Carrie, which some consider to be the “greatest of all American urban novels,” is the quintessential country-mouse-in-the-city story, only more… risqué. The novel tells the story of Caroline “Sister Carrie” Meeber, a young girl from rural Wisconsin who moves to Chicago with hopes of becoming a star. Carrie first stays with her older sister and her husband, but she soon becomes involved with a married man and a series of other morally questionable decisions follow. While Carrie may sound obviously blinded by her dreams of a glamorous future — and some may argue that’s because she is — Dreiser chose to present her character and others with a focus on human instinct as opposed to judgment, making it an early work of the naturalist movement. As one might expect, Dreiser had a difficult time finding and securing a publisher for Sister Carrie. After the manuscript had already been rejected twice, Doubleday, Page’s Frank Norris, author of the naturalistic novel McTeague, offered Dreiser a contract for the publication. This resulted in some upset within the publishing house — primarily due to book’s “lack of morality” — and Doubleday, Page tried to back out of the deal. Dreiser demanded that the contract be fulfilled and Doubleday published 1,008 copies in November 1900. However, the novel was perhaps not as thoroughly publicized as it could have been. Just 465 copies actually sold (not including the 129 that were sent out for reviews). The remaining 423 copies were later turned over to a remainder house. Unsurprisingly, Sister Carrie received negative response shortly after publication. Beyond the novel’s general sexual content and overall pessimistic tone, critics of the time took issue with the idea of Carrie engaging in illicit sexual relationships without suffering any consequences. Also unsurprisingly, Sister Carrie is another example of a masterpiece that could only be appreciated with time. In his 1930 Nobel Prize lecture, Sinclair Lewis compared the impact of Dreiser’s Sister Carrie to the work of Mark Twain and Walt Whitman. Carrie, a film adaptation directed by William Wyler and starring Laurence Olivier and Jennifer Jones, premiered in 1952. Sister Carrie is ranked 33rd on Modern Library’s “100 Best” English-language novels of the 20th century.
Read More: Identifying first editions of Sister Carrie
Reviews
(Log in or Create an Account first!)
Details
- Bookseller
- Round Table Books, LLC
(US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 17285
- Title
- Sister Carrie
- Author
- Dreiser, Theodore
- Illustrator
- Ben F. Stahl
- Format/Binding
- Leather
- Book Condition
- New As New with No dust jacket as issued
- Edition
- Limited Edition. First Printing
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Publisher
- The Franklin Library
- Place of Publication
- Franklin Center, PA
- Date Published
- 1979
- Keywords
- Urban Novel;, Theater;, Loss of Innocence;, Chicago;, New York;, Leather;, Fine Binding;, Limited Edition;, Franklin Library;
Terms of Sale
Round Table Books, LLC
SATISFACTION GUARANTEED - Any book may be returned in the same condition within 30 days of receipt for a full refund.
About the Seller
Round Table Books, LLC
Biblio member since 2008
Palatine, Illinois
About Round Table Books, LLC
Round Table Books, LLC lists rare, beautiful and interesting books. All books are described accurately, packed carefully and shipped promptly. SATISFACTION GUARANTEED - Any book may be returned within 30 days of receipt for a full refund.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Spine
- The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
- Raised Band(s)
- Raised bands refer to the ridges that protrude slightly from the spine on leather bound books. The bands are created in the...
- Jacket
- Sometimes used as another term for dust jacket, a protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps...
- New
- A new book is a book previously not circulated to a buyer. Although a new book is typically free of any faults or defects, "new"...
- Tight
- Used to mean that the binding of a book has not been overly loosened by frequent use.
Frequently asked questions
This Book’s Categories
Collecting the 1939 New York World’s Fair
Born in the midst of the Great Depression, the theme of the 1939 World’s Fair was “The World of Tomorrow” - a theme that captured the hearts of a generation. Check out the maps, souvenirs, and other ephemera on Biblio!
The American Eclipse of 2017
The path of the total eclipse of August 2017 had our offices at 99% totality - we closed the office to go watch the spectacle, but first we put together this gallery inspired by eclipses to celebrate.
