His portrait of a goldentongued evangelist who rises to power. Elmer gantry felt as if id read it already because the protagonist has been so widely referenced in american culture. Publication date 1927 topics iiit collection digitallibraryindia. Theres an old maxim declaring, napoleon is the limit of a madman. Elmer hellcat gantry starts out as a championshipwinning football captain at terwillinger college, as a great big loud, pushy, arrogant, thoughtless jackass whose good favor everyone wants to obtain since he was supposed to be the most. On a 1927 satire of evangelism, and what we can learn from it. However impatient he was with frank, philip mcgarrys last wish was to set elmer gantry piously baying on franks trail. Elmer gantry never knew who set him thirty dimes, wrapped in a tract about holiness, nor why. Lewis had long wanted to write a novel about what he called the religion racket. Elmer gantry is a satirical novel written by sinclair lewis in 1926 and published by harcourt in march 1927.
Free download or read online elmer gantry pdf epub book. He won the nobel prize for literature in 1930, the first given to an american. Indeed, his reputation for drinking and carousing with women is so notorious he earns the nickname hellcat. For over a year now it had been murmured through the churchworld that no speaker was more useful to the reform organization than the rev. Pages can include considerable notesin pen or highlighterbut the notes cannot obscure the text. Beginning of a dialog window, including tabbed navigation to register an account or sign in to an existing account. Lewis graduated from yale university 1907 and was for a time a reporter. Elmer gantry by sinclair lewis, first edition abebooks. Elmer gantry is a satirical novel written by sinclair lewis in 1926 that presents aspects of the religious activity of america in fundamentalist and evangelistic. Over the past few weeks, ive enjoyed sinclair lewis novel elmer gantry as an audio book, beautifully read by anthony heald and it took me a while to figure out why.
A complete biography of sinclair lewis, author of elmer gantry. But he found the sentiments in the tract useful in his sermon, and the thirty dimes he spent for lovely photographs of burlesque ladies. Sinclair lewis as set down in the good book elmer gantry in which this author of the early 20th century condemns organized religion, most notably the baptist church. The romance of sinclair lewis by gore vidal the new. While it cant happen here posits the aftermath of a false prophets ascent, elmer gantry is a complete portrait of such a man and, in our present moment, strikes me as the far more useful book. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading elmer gantry. Note on elmer gantry, based on novel by sinclair lewis, with burt lancaster. Whereas, in elmer gantry, lewis turns religion into a business. I was not very surprised to find that the further i went back, the fewer authors i recognized barely anyone, that is. Elmer gantry by sinclair lewis and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. Sinclair lewiss elmer gantry new york, 1927 is a ferocious satire against protestant fundamentalist religion in the american midwest. Elmer gantry has even been made into a new opera, with a score by robert aldridge and a libretto by herschel garfein, that recently premiered in nashville. The first edition of the novel was published in 1927, and was written by sinclair lewis.
With an unbeatable lineup of over 300 of the greatest literary works the world has ever known, signet classics is the publisher that students, education professionals and the public turn to more than any other. Sinclair lewis mercilessly skewers a narcissistic preacher who exploits christianity to enrich himself and secretly commits every sin he fulminates against from the pulpit. Sinclair lewis ferocious 1927 satire, elmer gantry, traces the career of a young man who is sent to a theological seminary by his pious mother but initially has no interest in becoming a minister. Elmer gantrys titular character is a boozing womanizer who, as a college student, learns the intoxication of holding an audience with his. Sinclair lewis books, ebooks, audiobooks, biography. In babbit, sinclair lewis turns business into a religion. That sums up sinclair lewis 1927 satire of scandalous fundamentalist ministers pretty well. Shirley jones wins academy award for playing a prostitute in elmer gantry 1961. Universally recognized as a landmark in american literature, elmer ga. See more ideas about elmer gantry, sinclair lewis and vintage corset. Elmer gantry, novel by sinclair lewis, a satiric indictment of fundamentalist religion that caused an uproar upon its publication in 1927.
In elmer gantry, sinclair lewis uses the character of elmer gantry to represent, without nuance or ambiguity, what he viewed as the prototypical evangelical minister of his day. See all books authored by sinclair lewis, including it cant happen here, and main street, and more on. Lewiss depiction of elmer and his immersion in the evangelical world is the strongest aspect of the book. Sinclair lewis books list of books by author sinclair lewis. Elmer gantry has 16 available editions to buy at half price books marketplace. A dreamer, at age he unsuccessfully ran away from home, wanting to become a drummer boy in the spanishamerican war. Sinclair lewis worldfamous satire of religious hypocrisy and the excesses of the roaring. Book has light edgewear and a adiagonal water mark on the back cover. In particular, elmer gantry is a perfect study of hypocrisy and rationalization in action. Elmer gantry, as the title suggests, is an most insincere and hypocritical preacher of the faith. We might be tempted to think that the corruption evident in modern televangelists is a new occurence. The main characters of this fiction, classics story are. He had, in fact, got everything from church and sunday school, except, perhaps, any longing whatever for decency and kindness and reason.
Universally recognized as a landmark in american literature, elmer gantry scandalized readers when it was first published, causing sinclair lewis to be invited to a jail cell in new hampshire and to his own lynching in virginia. Published in 1926, this is the story of a professional good man, a preacher and pastor in those first decades of the 20th century before the great depression. Elmer gantry and millions of other books are available for amazon kindle. Elmer gantry by sinclair lewis 1st edition 1927 1st printing hardcover. The first four references are part of the language. Sinclair lewis 1885 1951 sinclair lewis february 7, 1885 january 10, 1951 was an american novelist and playwright born harry sinclair lewis in sauk centre, minnesota, he began reading books at a young age and kept a diary. Light marks on pastedowns where items previously removed, corner creases to few pages, otherwise very good to near fine lacking dust jacket.
While earning the nickname hell cat in his youth, he changed his. No one is quite sure why sinclair lewis dedicated his best novel, babbitt. Published in 1926, elmer gantry is a classic fiction novel by sinclair lewis. Elmer gantry is the portrait of a silvertongued evangelist who rises to power within his church, yet lives a life of hypocrisy, sensuality, and ruthless selfindulgence the title character starts out as a greedy, shallow, philandering baptist minister, turns to evangelism, and eventually becomes the leader of a large methodist congregation. Book is bound in blue clothcovered boards with orange title. It tells the story of a hypocritical, corrupt, but very successful preacher named elmer gantry. Although elmer is not a very nice person and he only becomes worse as he grows in power and. After reading sinclair lewis 1926 classic, it seems that elmer gantry established the limit of human ambition. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. The book has been awarded with audie award for literary fiction. In my copy of elmer gantry, one sentence is underlined six times. We personally assess every books quality and offer rare, outofprint treasures.
Elmer gantry is a very real portrayal of a man who is ecstatic about his religion, but it is all an outward show for profit. See more ideas about sinclair lewis, elmer gantry and books. Sinclair lewis worldfamous satire of religious hypocrisy and the excesses of the. Supersummary, a modern alternative to sparknotes and cliffsnotes, offers highquality study guides that feature detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, quotes, and essay topics. The minnesota backgrounds of sinclair lewis fiction. This study guide consists of approximately 22 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of elmer gantry. Pdf elmer gantry book by sinclair lewis free download. A while back i looked at a list of bestselling books in the us throughout the 20th century. Elmer starts his career as a baptist and then joins up with a charismatic but equally unprincipled female revivalist preacher. Sinclair lewis, american novelist and social critic who punctured american complacency with his broadly drawn, widely popular satirical novels. Published in 1926, this is the story of a professional good man, a preacher and pastor in those first.
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