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{{Short description|1929 novel by Sinclair Lewis}}
{{other uses|Dodsworth (disambiguation)}}
{{other uses|Dodsworth (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox book
{{Infobox book
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| translator =
| translator =
| image = DodsworthBook.JPG
| image = DodsworthBook.JPG
| image_size = 200px <!--prefer 1st edition-->
| image_size =
| caption = First edition cover
| caption = First edition
| author = [[Sinclair Lewis]]
| author = [[Sinclair Lewis]]
| illustrator =
| illustrator =
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| language = English
| language = English
| series =
| series =
| genre = [[Satirical novel]]
| genre =
| publisher = [[Harcourt Brace & Company]]
| publisher = [[Harcourt Brace & Company]]
| pub_date = 1929
| pub_date = 1929
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}}
}}


'''''Dodsworth''''' is a [[satirical novel]] by American writer [[Sinclair Lewis]] first published by Harcourt Brace & Company in March 1929. Its subject, the differences between US and European intellect, manners, and morals, is one that frequently appears in the works of [[Henry James]].
'''''Dodsworth''''' is a [[satirical novel]] by American writer [[Sinclair Lewis]], first published by Harcourt Brace & Company on March 14, 1929. Its subject, the differences between US and European intellect, manners, and morals, is one that frequently appears in the works of [[Henry James]]. In 1936 it was made into a movie, ''[[Dodsworth (film)|Dodsworth]]'', which received seven Academy Award nominations and has been regarded as historically significant by the Library of Congress.


==Plot summary==
==Plot==
Samuel 'Sam' Dodsworth is an ambitious and innovative automobile designer, who builds his fortunes in ''[[Zenith, Winnemac]]''. In addition to his success in the business world, he had also succeeded as a young man in winning the hand of Frances 'Fran' Voelker, a beautiful young socialite. While the book provides the courtship as a backstory, the real novel begins upon his retirement. At the age of fifty and facing retirement as a result of his selling of his successful automobile company (The Revelation Motor Company) to a far larger competitor, he sets out to do what he had always wanted to experience: a leisurely trip to Europe with his wife. His forty-one-year-old wife, however, motivated by her own vanity and fear of lost youth, is dissatisfied with married life and small town Zenith, wants to live in Europe permanently as an expatriate, not just visit for a few months to allow Dodsworth to visit some manufacturing plants looking for his next challenge. Passing up advancement in his recently sold company, Dodsworth leaves for Europe with Fran but her motivations to get to Europe become quickly known.
The novel is set in the period between late 1925 and late 1927. Samuel ('Sam') Dodsworth is an ambitious and innovative automobile designer, who builds his fortunes in fictional Zenith, Winnemac, through the success of his Revelation Motor Company. Along the way, he courted and won the hand of Frances 'Fran' Voelker, a beautiful young socialite. Deciding to retire while he is still capable of enjoying his leisure, he sells out at fifty and sets out to pursue a dream he'd never allowed himself the time to realize: a leisurely trip to Europe with his wife, with aspirations to visit some manufacturing plants looking for his next challenge. His forty-one-year-old wife, however, motivated by her own vanity and fear of lost youth, is dissatisfied with married life and small town Zenith, and wants to live in Europe permanently as an expatriate, not just visit for a few months. The Dodsworths leave for Europe with Fran. Her disparate motivations for the trip become quickly known.


On their extensive travels across Europe they are soon caught up in vastly different lifestyles. Fran falls in with a crowd of frivolous socialites, while Sam plays more of an independent tourist. 'With his red Baedeker guide book in hand, he visits such well-known tourist attractions as Westminister Abbey, Notre Dame Cathedral, Sanssouci Palace, and the Piazza San Marco. But the historic sites that he sees prove to be far less significant than the American expatriates that he meets on his extensive journeys across Great Britain and continental Europe' <ref>Wenzl, Bernhard. "American Expatriates in Interwar Europe: Sinclair Lewis's Dodsworth". In: ''The Sinclair Lewis Society Newsletter''. Vol. 20 (1), Fall 2011, 3 & 15–19.</ref> He eventually meets Edith Cortright, an expatriate American widow in Venice, who is everything his wife is not: self-assured, self-confident, unselfish and able to take care of herself. As Sam and Fran follow their own pursuits, their marriage is strained to the breaking point. Both are forced to choose between marriage and the new lifestyles they have pursued. Fran is clearly Lewis' target here while Sam ambles along as a stranger in a strange land until the epiphany of getting on with his life hits him in the last act. Sam Dodsworth is a rare Lewis character: a man of true conviction and purpose. Purpose and conviction can be relied on significantly as the book (and film) concludes with the two main characters going in quite different directions.
In their extensive travels across Europe, they are soon caught up in vastly different lifestyles. Fran falls in with a crowd of frivolous socialites, while Sam plays more of an independent tourist. 'With his red [[Baedeker]] guide book in hand, he visits such well-known tourist attractions as Westminster Abbey, Notre Dame Cathedral, Sanssouci Palace, and the Piazza San Marco. But the historic sites that he sees prove to be far less significant than the American expatriates that he meets on his extensive journeys across Great Britain and continental Europe' <ref>Wenzl, Bernhard. "American Expatriates in Interwar Europe: Sinclair Lewis's Dodsworth". In: ''The Sinclair Lewis Society Newsletter''. Vol. 20 (1), Fall 2011, 3 & 15–19.</ref> He meets Edith Cortright, an expatriate American widow in Venice, who is everything his wife is not: self-assured, self-confident, selfless, and self-reliant. As Sam and Fran follow their own pursuits, their relationship is strained to the breaking point. Both are forced to choose between marriage and the new lifestyles they have embraced.


Set from late 1925 to late 1927, the novel includes detailed descriptions of Sam and Fran's tours across Europe. In the beginning they leave their mid-Western hometown of Zenith, board a steam liner in New York and cross the Atlantic Ocean. Their first stop is England. They visit the sights in London and are invited by Major Clyde Lockert to join a weekend trip to the countryside. Later on, when Lockert has made an indecent proposal to Fran, they depart for Paris, where she soon engages in a busy social life and he takes up sightseeing. When Sam decides to go back to America for his college reunion in New Haven, Fran spends the summer months on the lakes near Montreux and Stresa, where she has a romance with Arnold Israel. Once Sam has picked her up in Paris, they agree to continue their travels together, touring France, Italy, Spain, Austria, Hungary and Germany. Their marriage comes to an end, when she falls in love with Kurt von Obersdorf in Berlin. Whereas she stays on with her new love, he criss-crosses Europe in an attempt to cope with his new situation. When Sam happens to run into Edith in Venice, she persuades him to accompany her on a visit to a village in the vicinity of Naples. As Fran's fiancé calls off the wedding, Sam joins his former wife on her voyage back to New York. Only three days later he is back on the next ship to meet Edith in Paris.
The novel includes detailed descriptions of Sam and Fran's tours across Europe. They leave for the Continent via steam liner from New York, landing first in England. They take in London and are invited by Major Clyde Lockert to join a weekend trip to the countryside. Later, after Lockert has made an indecent proposal to Fran, they depart for Paris, where she soon engages in a busy social life and Sam takes up sightseeing. When he decides to go back to America for his college reunion in [[New Haven]], Fran spends the summer months on the Alpine lakes near Montreux and Stresa, where she has a romance with Arnold Israel. Once Sam has picked her up in Paris, they agree to continue their travels together, touring France, Italy, Spain, Austria, Hungary and Germany. Fran next falls in love with nobleman Kurt von Obersdorf in Berlin, and stays on with him while Sam criss-crosses Europe attempting to cope with the breakdown of his marriage. When he happens to run into Edith in Venice, she persuades him to accompany her on a visit to a village in the vicinity of Naples. Von Obersdorf calls off the marriage, and Sam joins Fran on her voyage back to New York. Three days later, he is back on the next ship to meet Edith in Paris.


[[File:Dodsworth.png|thumb|left|700px|The schematic itinerary of Sam and Fran Dodsworth's travels across Europe from late 1925 to late 1927]]
[[File:Dodsworth.png|thumb|left|700px|The schematic itinerary of Sam and Fran Dodsworth's travels across Europe from late 1925 to late 1927]]
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==Adaptations==
==Adaptations==
The novel was [[Dodsworth (play)|adapted for the stage in 1934]] by [[Sidney Howard]] and [[Dodsworth (film)|filmed in 1936]] by [[William Wyler]]. It also provided the basis for a 1950 British television drama starring [[Ruth Chatterton]] and [[Walter Abel]], and a 1995 musical adaptation that was staged in [[Fort Worth, Texas]] with [[Hal Linden]] and [[Dee Hoty]].<ref name="Variety1995-10-29" />
The novel was [[Dodsworth (play)|adapted for the stage in 1934]] by [[Sidney Howard]] and [[Dodsworth (film)|filmed by producer Samuel Goldwyn in 1936]] and directed by [[William Wyler]].<ref>{{AFI film|id=4065|title=Dodsworth}}</ref> It starred [[Walter Huston]], [[Ruth Chatterton]] and [[Mary Astor]]. A 1995 musical adaptation that was staged in [[Fort Worth, Texas]] with [[Hal Linden]] and [[Dee Hoty]].<ref name="Variety1995-10-29" />

==Critique==
In his analysis of the novel, Martin R. Ausmus has described ''Dodsworth'' as Lewis' "most sympathetic yet most savage", "most real" and "truest picture of the middle class" of America at the time.<ref>{{cite journal | jstor=40115086 | last=Ausmus | first=Martin R. | title=Sinclair Lewis, ''Dodsworth'', and the Fallacy of Reputation | journal=Books Abroad | volume=34 | issue=4 | pages=349–355 | date=Autumn 1960 | doi=10.2307/40115086 }}</ref> Michael Augspurger has noted the influence of the ideas of [[Thorstein Veblen]] in his analysis of the presence of ideas and ideology related to business in the novel.<ref>{{cite journal | jstor=1315141 | last=Augspurger | first=Michael | title=Sinclair Lewis' Primers for the Professional Managerial Class: ''Babbitt'', ''Arrowsmith'', and ''Dodsworth''| journal=The Journal of the Midwest Modern Language Association | volume=34 | issue=2 | pages=73–97 | date=Spring 2001 | doi=10.2307/1315141 }}</ref>


==References==
==References==
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<ref name="Variety1995-10-29">
<ref name="Variety1995-10-29">
{{cite web
{{cite magazine
| title = Dodsworth review
| title = Dodsworth review
| publisher = Variety.com
| magazine = Variety.com
| date = 1995-10-29
| date = 1995-10-29
| url = http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117910355.html?categoryid=31&cs=1
| url = https://www.variety.com/review/VE1117910355.html?categoryid=31&cs=1
| accessdate = 2011-09-12
| access-date = 2011-09-12
}}
}}
</ref>
</ref>
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}}
}}

==External links==
* {{FadedPage|id=20161108|name=Dodsworth}}


{{Sinclair Lewis}}
{{Sinclair Lewis}}
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[[Category:American satirical novels]]
[[Category:American satirical novels]]
[[Category:Harcourt (publisher) books]]
[[Category:Harcourt (publisher) books]]
[[Category:Midwestern United States in fiction]]
[[Category:Novels set in the Midwestern United States]]
[[Category:American novels adapted into plays]]
[[Category:American novels adapted into plays]]
[[Category:Novels by Sinclair Lewis]]
[[Category:Novels by Sinclair Lewis]]

Latest revision as of 19:50, 19 March 2024

Dodsworth
First edition
AuthorSinclair Lewis
LanguageEnglish
PublisherHarcourt Brace & Company
Publication date
1929
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint (hardback & paperback)

Dodsworth is a satirical novel by American writer Sinclair Lewis, first published by Harcourt Brace & Company on March 14, 1929. Its subject, the differences between US and European intellect, manners, and morals, is one that frequently appears in the works of Henry James. In 1936 it was made into a movie, Dodsworth, which received seven Academy Award nominations and has been regarded as historically significant by the Library of Congress.

Plot

[edit]

The novel is set in the period between late 1925 and late 1927. Samuel ('Sam') Dodsworth is an ambitious and innovative automobile designer, who builds his fortunes in fictional Zenith, Winnemac, through the success of his Revelation Motor Company. Along the way, he courted and won the hand of Frances 'Fran' Voelker, a beautiful young socialite. Deciding to retire while he is still capable of enjoying his leisure, he sells out at fifty and sets out to pursue a dream he'd never allowed himself the time to realize: a leisurely trip to Europe with his wife, with aspirations to visit some manufacturing plants looking for his next challenge. His forty-one-year-old wife, however, motivated by her own vanity and fear of lost youth, is dissatisfied with married life and small town Zenith, and wants to live in Europe permanently as an expatriate, not just visit for a few months. The Dodsworths leave for Europe with Fran. Her disparate motivations for the trip become quickly known.

In their extensive travels across Europe, they are soon caught up in vastly different lifestyles. Fran falls in with a crowd of frivolous socialites, while Sam plays more of an independent tourist. 'With his red Baedeker guide book in hand, he visits such well-known tourist attractions as Westminster Abbey, Notre Dame Cathedral, Sanssouci Palace, and the Piazza San Marco. But the historic sites that he sees prove to be far less significant than the American expatriates that he meets on his extensive journeys across Great Britain and continental Europe' [1] He meets Edith Cortright, an expatriate American widow in Venice, who is everything his wife is not: self-assured, self-confident, selfless, and self-reliant. As Sam and Fran follow their own pursuits, their relationship is strained to the breaking point. Both are forced to choose between marriage and the new lifestyles they have embraced.

The novel includes detailed descriptions of Sam and Fran's tours across Europe. They leave for the Continent via steam liner from New York, landing first in England. They take in London and are invited by Major Clyde Lockert to join a weekend trip to the countryside. Later, after Lockert has made an indecent proposal to Fran, they depart for Paris, where she soon engages in a busy social life and Sam takes up sightseeing. When he decides to go back to America for his college reunion in New Haven, Fran spends the summer months on the Alpine lakes near Montreux and Stresa, where she has a romance with Arnold Israel. Once Sam has picked her up in Paris, they agree to continue their travels together, touring France, Italy, Spain, Austria, Hungary and Germany. Fran next falls in love with nobleman Kurt von Obersdorf in Berlin, and stays on with him while Sam criss-crosses Europe attempting to cope with the breakdown of his marriage. When he happens to run into Edith in Venice, she persuades him to accompany her on a visit to a village in the vicinity of Naples. Von Obersdorf calls off the marriage, and Sam joins Fran on her voyage back to New York. Three days later, he is back on the next ship to meet Edith in Paris.

The schematic itinerary of Sam and Fran Dodsworth's travels across Europe from late 1925 to late 1927

Adaptations

[edit]

The novel was adapted for the stage in 1934 by Sidney Howard and filmed by producer Samuel Goldwyn in 1936 and directed by William Wyler.[2] It starred Walter Huston, Ruth Chatterton and Mary Astor. A 1995 musical adaptation that was staged in Fort Worth, Texas with Hal Linden and Dee Hoty.[3]

Critique

[edit]

In his analysis of the novel, Martin R. Ausmus has described Dodsworth as Lewis' "most sympathetic yet most savage", "most real" and "truest picture of the middle class" of America at the time.[4] Michael Augspurger has noted the influence of the ideas of Thorstein Veblen in his analysis of the presence of ideas and ideology related to business in the novel.[5]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Wenzl, Bernhard. "American Expatriates in Interwar Europe: Sinclair Lewis's Dodsworth". In: The Sinclair Lewis Society Newsletter. Vol. 20 (1), Fall 2011, 3 & 15–19.
  2. ^ Dodsworth at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
  3. ^ "Dodsworth review". Variety.com. 1995-10-29. Retrieved 2011-09-12.
  4. ^ Ausmus, Martin R. (Autumn 1960). "Sinclair Lewis, Dodsworth, and the Fallacy of Reputation". Books Abroad. 34 (4): 349–355. doi:10.2307/40115086. JSTOR 40115086.
  5. ^ Augspurger, Michael (Spring 2001). "Sinclair Lewis' Primers for the Professional Managerial Class: Babbitt, Arrowsmith, and Dodsworth". The Journal of the Midwest Modern Language Association. 34 (2): 73–97. doi:10.2307/1315141. JSTOR 1315141.
[edit]