''Dodsworth'' is a satirical novel by American writer

Sinclair Lewis Harry Sinclair Lewis (February 7, 1885 – January 10, 1951) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and playwright. In 1930 Nobel Prize in Literature, 1930, he became the first author from the United States (and the first from the America ...

, first published by Harcourt Brace & Company on March 14, 1929. Its subject, the differences between US and European intellect, manners, and morals, is one that frequently appears in the works of

Henry James Henry James ( – ) was an American-British author. He is regarded as a key transitional figure between literary realism and literary modernism, and is considered by many to be among the greatest novelists in the English language. He was the ...

. In 1936 it was made into a movie, '' Dodsworth'', which received seven Academy Award nominations and has been regarded as historically significant by the Library of Congress.

Plot

The novel is set in the period between late 1925 and late 1927. Samuel ('Sam') Dodsworth is an ambitious and innovative automobile designer, who builds his fortunes in fictional Zenith, Winnemac, through the success of his Revelation Motor Company. Along the way, he courted and won the hand of Frances 'Fran' Voelker, a beautiful young socialite. Deciding to retire while he is still capable of enjoying his leisure, he sells out at fifty and sets out to pursue a dream he'd never allowed himself the time to realize: a leisurely trip to Europe with his wife, with aspirations to visit some manufacturing plants looking for his next challenge. His forty-one-year-old wife, however, motivated by her own vanity and fear of lost youth, is dissatisfied with married life and small town Zenith, and wants to live in Europe permanently as an expatriate, not just visit for a few months. The Dodsworths leave for Europe with Fran. Her disparate motivations for the trip become quickly known. In their extensive travels across Europe, they are soon caught up in vastly different lifestyles. Fran falls in with a crowd of frivolous socialites, while Sam plays more of an independent tourist. 'With his red

Baedeker Verlag Karl Baedeker, founded by Karl Baedeker on 1 July 1827, is a German publisher and pioneer in the business of worldwide travel guides. The guides, often referred to simply as "List of Baedeker Guides, Baedekers" (a term sometimes used to re ...

guide book in hand, he visits such well-known tourist attractions as Westminster Abbey, Notre Dame Cathedral, Sanssouci Palace, and the Piazza San Marco. But the historic sites that he sees prove to be far less significant than the American expatriates that he meets on his extensive journeys across Great Britain and continental Europe' He meets Edith Cortright, an expatriate American widow in Venice, who is everything his wife is not: self-assured, self-confident, selfless, and self-reliant. As Sam and Fran follow their own pursuits, their relationship is strained to the breaking point. Both are forced to choose between marriage and the new lifestyles they have embraced. The novel includes detailed descriptions of Sam and Fran's tours across Europe. They leave for the Continent via steam liner from New York, landing first in England. They take in London and are invited by Major Clyde Lockert to join a weekend trip to the countryside. Later, after Lockert has made an indecent proposal to Fran, they depart for Paris, where she soon engages in a busy social life and Sam takes up sightseeing. When he decides to go back to America for his college reunion in

New Haven New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is the third largest city in Co ...

, Fran spends the summer months on the Alpine lakes near Montreux and Stresa, where she has a romance with Arnold Israel. Once Sam has picked her up in Paris, they agree to continue their travels together, touring France, Italy, Spain, Austria, Hungary and Germany. Fran next falls in love with nobleman Kurt von Obersdorf in Berlin, and stays on with him while Sam criss-crosses Europe attempting to cope with the breakdown of his marriage. When he happens to run into Edith in Venice, she persuades him to accompany her on a visit to a village in the vicinity of Naples. Von Obersdorf calls off the marriage, and Sam joins Fran on her voyage back to New York. Three days later, he is back on the next ship to meet Edith in Paris. Dodsworth

Adaptations

The novel was adapted for the stage in 1934 by

Sidney Howard Sidney Coe Howard (June 26, 1891 – August 23, 1939) was an American playwright, dramatist and screenwriter. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1925 and a posthumous Academy Award in 1940 for the screenplay for '' Gone with the Wind'' ...

and filmed by producer Samuel Goldwyn in 1936 and directed by

William Wyler William Wyler (; born Willi Wyler (); July 1, 1902 – July 27, 1981) was a German-born American film director and producer. Known for his work in numerous genres over five decades, he received numerous awards and accolades, including three Aca ...

. It starred

Walter Huston Walter Thomas Huston ( ; April 6, 1883 or 1884 – April 7, 1950) was a Canadian actor and singer. Huston won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in '' The Treasure of the Sierra Madre'', directed by his son John Huston. He ...

Ruth Chatterton Ruth Chatterton (December 24, 1892 – November 24, 1961) was an American stage, film, and television actress, aviator and novelist. She was at her most popular in the early to mid-1930s, and in the same era gained prominence as an aviator, ...

and

Mary Astor Mary Astor (born Lucile Vasconcellos Langhanke; May 3, 1906 – September 25, 1987) was an American actress. Although her career spanned several decades, she may be best remembered for her performance as Brigid O'Shaughnessy in '' The Maltese ...

. A 1995 musical adaptation that was staged in

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...

with

Hal Linden Hal Linden (born Harold Lipshitz, March 20, 1931) is an American stage and screen actor, television director and musician. Linden began his career as a big band musician and singer in the 1950s. After a stint in the United States Army, he began ...

and

Dee Hoty Dee Hoty (born August 16, 1952) is an American actress known for her work in musical theatre. Over the course of her career, she has appeared in numerous Broadway productions and earned three Tony Award nominations for Best Actress in a Musica ...

Critique

In his analysis of the novel, Martin R. Ausmus has described ''Dodsworth'' as Lewis' "most sympathetic yet most savage", "most real" and "truest picture of the middle class" of America at the time. Michael Augspurger has noted the influence of the ideas of

Thorstein Veblen Thorstein Bunde Veblen (; July 30, 1857 – August 3, 1929) was an American Economics, economist and Sociology, sociologist who, during his lifetime, emerged as a well-known Criticism of capitalism, critic of capitalism. In his best-known book ...

in his analysis of the presence of ideas and ideology related to business in the novel.

References

External links

* * {{Sinclair Lewis 1929 American novels American novels adapted into films American satirical novels Harcourt (publisher) books Novels set in the Midwestern United States American novels adapted into plays Novels by Sinclair Lewis Novels set in Europe