Reading Order
Elmer GantrySinclair Lewis's Elmer Gantry Reading Order
Sinclair Lewis's Elmer Gantry (1927) is his most scandalous novel — Elmer Gantry, a fraudulent, sexually voracious Baptist minister who rises through American evangelicalism through charm, hypocrisy, and the exploitation of women. Lewis dedicated the book to H.L. Mencken and was burned in effigy in some Southern states; a Virginia legislator proposed a bill to bar Lewis from the state. The novel remains the definitive literary portrait of American religious hypocrisy and the phenomenon of the fraudulent revivalist. Burt Lancaster won the Academy Award for Best Actor playing Elmer Gantry in the 1960 film adaptation. There are no sequels; the Lewis satires Babbitt (1922) and Arrowsmith (1925) are the natural companions from his peak decade.
Where to start
Elmer Gantry
Complete Elmer Gantry Book List
- 1Buy
Elmer Gantry
Sinclair Lewis·1927·The main novel — Elmer Gantry the fraudulent evangelist from divinity school through revival circuit to megachurch pastor. - 2Buy
Babbitt
Sinclair Lewis·1922·The companion satire — George Babbitt the real estate man, the Lewis treatment of American business conformism in the same decade. - 3Buy
It Can't Happen Here
Sinclair Lewis·1935·The later Lewis — a fascist demagogue taking over America, written as Hitler rose to power, the political warning that completes Lewis's range of American institutional satires. - 4Buy
Elmer Gantry
Richard Brooks·1960·The Academy Award film — Burt Lancaster's Oscar-winning portrayal, one of the few cases where the film is nearly as celebrated as the novel it adapts. - 5Buy
The Poisonwood Bible
Barbara Kingsolver·1998·The missionary family in the Congo — Nathan Price as the dark contemporary heir to Elmer Gantry, religious conviction that destroys rather than saves, the American evangelical tradition in its colonial extension.
Elmer Gantry — Frequently Asked Questions
Is Elmer Gantry anti-religious?
Lewis was more anti-hypocrisy than anti-religion. The novel targets the fraudulent use of religion for personal power and sexual exploitation, not religious faith itself. The character of Frank Shallard represents the genuine religious intellectual that Elmer Gantry is not.
Why was Elmer Gantry so controversial?
Because it depicted religious leaders — specifically Baptist and Methodist ministers — as cynical frauds and sexual predators at a time when religious respectability was central to American public life. The specificity of Lewis's portrait made it impossible to dismiss as purely fictional.
Is the 1960 film worth watching alongside the novel?
Yes — Burt Lancaster's performance captures the charisma and fraudulence of Elmer Gantry, though the film compresses and alters Lewis's plot. The film won Lancaster the Oscar and Jean Simmons also won for her performance as Sharon Falconer.
Monthly Newsletter
Never miss a big release
Get the most anticipated upcoming books delivered to your inbox once a month — no spam, no filler.
Monthly only. Unsubscribe anytime.
Book links are Amazon affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, BookReleaseRadar earns from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.