Theodore Dreiser

Theodore Dreiser, born in Sullivan, Indiana in 1871, died 1945, was an author known for dealing with the gritty reality of life. From 1889-1890, he attended Indiana University before flunking out. Within a couple of years, he was writing for the Chicago Globe and then the St. Louis Globe-Democrat. In 1892 he married to Sara White. Although they separated in 1909, they never actually got divorced.

His first novel, Sister Carrie (1900), told the story of a woman who fled her country life for the city (Chicago) and fell into a wayward life of sin. The publisher did little to promote the book, and it sold poorly. Dreiser took a job editing women's magazines until he was forced to resign in 1910 because of an interoffice romance. His second novel, Jennie Gerhardt was published the following year. Many of Dreiser's following novels also dealt with social inequality.

His first commercial success was An American Tragedy (1925), which was subsequently made into a film in 1931 and again in 1951.

For more info see [International Theodore Dreiser Society].