Reading Order
DodsworthSinclair Lewis's Dodsworth Reading Order
Sinclair Lewis's Dodsworth (1929) is his most sympathetic and mature novel — Samuel Dodsworth, the successful Zenith City auto manufacturer who retires and travels to Europe with his wife Fran, only to find that the marriage falls apart as Fran pursues her European fantasies. Lewis had written Babbitt (1922) as a pure satirist; in Dodsworth he returned to the businessman with compassion rather than mockery — Sam Dodsworth is the Babbitt who is capable of growth, and the novel is Lewis's most sustained attempt at the kind of serious realistic fiction he admired in the European novel. Walter Huston originated the role on Broadway in 1934; he and Ruth Chatterton starred in William Wyler's 1936 film, which received seven Academy Award nominations. There are no sequels; Dodsworth stands as the conclusion of Lewis's great decade of American satire.
Where to start
Dodsworth
Complete Dodsworth Book List
- 1Buy
Dodsworth
Sinclair Lewis·1929·The main novel — Sam Dodsworth in Europe, his marriage to Fran dissolving, his growth beyond the Zenith businessman he was. - 2Buy
Babbitt
Sinclair Lewis·1922·The satirical predecessor — George Babbitt as the Zenith businessman Lewis mocked; Dodsworth is the same character given the capacity for genuine self-examination. - 3Buy
The Sun Also Rises
Ernest Hemingway·1926·Americans in Europe at the same historical moment — Jake Barnes and the expatriates in Paris and Pamplona, the other great novel of the American abroad in the 1920s. - 4Buy
The Portrait of a Lady
Henry James·1881·The great predecessor to the American in Europe novel — Isabel Archer discovering the limits of her freedom in the old world, the James tradition Lewis was deliberately working within. - 5Buy
Main Street
Sinclair Lewis·1920·The other Lewis novel of a protagonist trapped by provincial expectations — Carol Kennicott and Sam Dodsworth are Lewis's two most sympathetically drawn characters, both seeking escape from Zenith.
Dodsworth — Frequently Asked Questions
Is Dodsworth the most accessible Sinclair Lewis novel?
It is the most emotionally serious and the one closest to conventional realistic fiction. Babbitt is more purely comic and satirical. Many readers find Dodsworth the most moving Lewis novel, while Babbitt is the most famous.
How does Dodsworth differ from Babbitt?
Babbitt is a satire — Lewis mocks George Babbitt's complacency. Dodsworth is a novel of character development — Lewis treats Sam Dodsworth sympathetically, showing him capable of self-examination and genuine change that Babbitt cannot achieve.
Is the 1936 film of Dodsworth worth watching?
Yes — William Wyler directed and Walter Huston and Ruth Chatterton's performances are remarkable. It is one of the best Hollywood literary adaptations of the 1930s and illuminates the novel's emotional dynamics.
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