A Traveler at Forty
Theodore Dreiser (Author)
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This volume was published in 1914 and is a travelogue of the
author's trip to England, France, Italy, Germany and Holland.
Some excerpts:
When I reached the ship, it was already a perfect morning in
full glow. The sun was up; a host of gulls were on the wing;
and air of delicious adventure enveloped the great liner's dock
at the foot of Thirteenth Street.
Did ever a boy thrill over a ship as I over this monster of the
seas?
In the first place, even at this early hour it was crowded with
people. From the moment I came on board I was delighed by
the eager, restless movement of the throng. The main deck
was like the lobby of one of the great New York hotels at
dinner-time.
..............................................................................
Whatever the medieval atmosphere of Florence may have
been, and when I was there the exterior appearance of the
central heart was obviously somewhat akin to its fourteenth
and fifteenth century predecessor, today its prevailing spirit
is thoroughly modern. If you walk in the Piazza della Signoria
or the Piazza, del Duomo or the Via dei Calzaioli, the principal
thoroughfare, you will encounter most of the ancient landmarks
a goodly number of them, but they will look out of place, as in
the case of the palaces with their windowless ground floors,
built so for purposes of defense, their corner lanterns, bar-
ricaded windows, and single great entrances easily guarded.
...............................................................................
About the author, Theodore Dreiser:
American author, outstanding representative of naturalism, whose novels depict real-life subjects in a harsh light. Dreiser's novels were held to be amoral, and he battled throughout his career against censorship and popular taste. This started with "Sister Carrie" (1900). It was not until 1981 that the work was published in its original form. Dreiser's principal concern was with the conflict between human needs and the demands of society for material success.
"He had an enormous influence on American literature during the first quarter of the century - and for a time he was American literature, the only writer worth talking about in the same breath with the European masters. Out of his passions, contradictions, and sufferings, he wrenched the art that was his salvation from the hungers and depressions that racked him. It was no wonder that he elevated the creative principle to a godhead and encouraged by word and example truthful expression in others." (from Theodore Dreiser: An American Journey 1908-1945 by Richard Lingeman, 1991)
Dreiser wrote novels reflecting his mechanistic view of life, a concept that held humanity as the victim of such ungovernable forces as economics, biology, society, and even chance. In his works, conventional morality is unimportant, consciously virtuous behavior having little to do with material success and happiness. While his style and language tended to be clumsy and plodding, he played an important role in introducing a new realism and sexual candor into American fiction. Dreiser was born into a large and poor family. His education was irregular, but, with help from a sympathetic high school teacher, he spent the year 1889-90 at the Univ. of Indiana. After working as a journalist on several midwestern newspapers, in 1894 he went to New York City, where he began a career in publishing, eventually rising to the presidency of Butterick Publications. **
...**summary from Encyclopedia.com
Be sure to look for other travelogues and novels from this unique American author. To name just a few:
- A Hoosier Holiday
- A Book About Myself
- The "Genius"
- Rank: #693585 in eBooks
- Published on: 2009-10-03
- Released on: 2009-10-03
- Format: Kindle eBook
- Number of items: 1
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