Sinclair Lewis, the son of a doctor, was born in Minnesota in 1885. He entered Yale University in 1903 but left three years later to join Englewood, the socialist colony founded by the writer Upton Sinclair.

In 1908 Lewis moved to New York where he became a freelance writer. His first novel, Hike and the Aeroplane was published in 1912. This was followed by Our Mr Wrenn (1914) and The Trail of the Hawk (1915), but it was his novel Main Street (1920), that established his reputation as a great novelist.

Lewis's greatest work, Babbitt, was published in 1922. One critic wrote "The creation of George F. Babbit - whose name has become synonymous with bourgeois mediocrity - an intellectually empty, emotionally immature man of dubious morals who nevertheless remains a lovable comicstrip figure, is Lewis's greatest accomplishment."

His next novel, Arrowsmith (1925), about a young doctor's attempt to maintain his integrity in a world of commercialism, was awarded a Pulitzer Prize. Elmer Gantry, the story of a revivalist minister, appeared in 1927. Dodsworth (1929), was an account of a retired automobile manufacturer travelling in Europe. Both books were well-received and in 1930 Lewis became the first American novelist to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature.

Although no longer an active socialist, Lewis continued to write books that revealed his commitment to political and social change. This included Ann Vickers (1933), a book about the women's movement and prison reform, and It Can't Happen Here (1935) a warning about the dangers of fascism.

After the Second World War his novels included Cass Timberlane (1945), Kingsblood Royal (1947) and God-Seeker (1949). Sinclair Lewis died in 1951.

	Enter your search terms Submit search form
	Web www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk