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Babbitt by Sinclair Lewis
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Babbitt

By Sinclair Lewis
Introduction by Richard Lingeman

By Sinclair Lewis
Introduction by Richard Lingeman

By Sinclair Lewis

By Sinclair Lewis

By Sinclair Lewis

By Sinclair Lewis

Part of Modern Library Classics

Paperback $12.00

Jan 08, 2002 | 432 Pages

Mass Market Paperback $5.95

Sep 01, 1998 | 464 Pages

Ebook $1.99

Nov 27, 2007 | 464 Pages

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    Babbitt by Sinclair Lewis
    Paperback
    Jan 08, 2002 | 432 Pages
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    Paperback (2)
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    • Ebook $1.99

      Nov 27, 2007 | 464 Pages

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    About Babbitt

    In the fall of 1920, Sinclair Lewis began a novel set in a fast-growing city with the heart and mind of a small town. For the center of his cutting satire of American business he created the bustling, shallow, and myopic George F. Babbitt, the epitome of middle-class mediocrity. The novel cemented Lewis’s prominence as a social commentator.

    Babbitt basks in his pedestrian success and the popularity it has brought him. He demands high moral standards from those around him while flirting with women, and he yearns to have rich friends while shunning those less fortunate than he. But Babbitt’s secure complacency is shattered when his best friend is sent to prison, and he struggles to find meaning in his hollow life. He revolts, but finds that his former routine is not so easily thrown over.

    About Babbitt

    When Babbitt was first published in 1922, fans gleefully hailed its scathing portrait of a crass, materialistic nation; critics denounced it as an unfair skewering of the American businessman. Sparking heated literary debate, Babbitt became a controversial classic, securing Sinclair Lewis’s place as one of America’s preeminent social commentators.

    Businessman George F. Babbitt loves the latest appliances, brand names, and the Republican Party. In fact, he loves being a solid citizen even more than he loves his wife. But Babbitt comes to resent the middle-class trappings he has worked so hard to acquire. Realizing that his life is devoid of meaning, he grows determined to transcend his trivial existence and search for greater purpose. Raising thought-provoking questions while yielding hilarious consequences, and just as relevant today as ever, Babbitt’s quest for meaning forces us to confront the Babbitt in ourselves—and ponder what it truly means to be an American.

    About Babbitt

    In the fall of 1920, Sinclair Lewis began a novel set in a fast-growing city with the heart and mind of a small town. For the center of his cutting satire of American business he created the bustling, shallow, and myopic George F. Babbitt, the epitome of middle-class mediocrity. The novel cemented Lewis’s prominence as a social commentator.

    Babbitt basks in his pedestrian success and the popularity it has brought him. He demands high moral standards from those around him while flirting with women, and he yearns to have rich friends while shunning those less fortunate than he. But Babbitt’s secure complacency is shattered when his best friend is sent to prison, and he struggles to find meaning in his hollow life. He revolts, but finds that his former routine is not so easily thrown over.

    Read An Excerpt

    Reading Guide

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    Reading Guide

    Also by Sinclair Lewis

    Babbitt
    Main Street
    Arrowsmith
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    It Can't Happen Here
    See all books by Sinclair Lewis

    Also by Sinclair Lewis

    Babbitt
    Main Street
    Arrowsmith
    Elmer Gantry
    It Can't Happen Here
    See all books by Sinclair Lewis

    Also by Sinclair Lewis

    Babbitt
    Main Street
    Arrowsmith
    Elmer Gantry
    It Can't Happen Here
    See all books by Sinclair Lewis

    About Sinclair Lewis

    Sinclair Lewis (1885-1951) won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1930, the first American novelist to be so honored. He was born in Sauk Centre, Minnesota, the son of a doctor. After an extremely unhappy childhood, he went to Yale… More about Sinclair Lewis

    About Sinclair Lewis

    Sinclair Lewis (1885-1951) won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1930, the first American novelist to be so honored. He was born in Sauk Centre, Minnesota, the son of a doctor. After an extremely unhappy childhood, he went to Yale… More about Sinclair Lewis

    About Sinclair Lewis

    Sinclair Lewis (1885-1951) won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1930, the first American novelist to be so honored. He was born in Sauk Centre, Minnesota, the son of a doctor. After an extremely unhappy childhood, he went to Yale… More about Sinclair Lewis

    Product Details

    Category: Fiction Classics | Literary Fiction

    Paperback | $12.00
    Published by Modern Library
    Jan 08, 2002 | 432 Pages | 5-3/16 x 8 | ISBN 9780375759253

    Category: Fiction Classics | Literary Fiction

    Mass Market Paperback | $5.95
    Published by Bantam Classics
    Sep 01, 1998 | 464 Pages | 4-3/16 x 6-7/8 | ISBN 9780553214864

    Category: Fiction Classics | Literary Fiction

    Ebook | $1.99
    Published by Bantam Classics
    Nov 27, 2007 | 464 Pages | ISBN 9780553904390

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    Praise

    “[It is] by its hardness, its efficiency, its compactness that Mr. Lewis’s work excels.”—Virginia Woolf

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