Sister Carrie

<b>This landmark novel about a small-town girl who runs away to the big city has been hailed as one of the greatest portraits of urban life in American literature.</b><br><br>When Theodore Dreiser's epic first novel stormed onto the literary scene in 1900 it was a breath of fresh air in more ways than one. Celebrated for the vibrant and gritty realism of its portrayal of city life <i>Sister Carrie</i> also gave the world an unforgettable heroine&#151;a thoroughly modern young woman who turned the traditional cautionary tale of the fallen woman on its head. <br><br>When Carrie Meeber runs away to Chicago she has nothing to rely on but her beauty and a fierce determination to improve her life. She escapes work in a factory by becoming the mistress of first one man and then a more successful one but ultimately leaves them behind for success and fame on the stage in New York. <br><br>Long hailed as one of the best novels of the twentieth century <i>Sister Carrie</i> provides a panoramic view of the dynamic and relentless forces that still drive city life and American culture.