Main Street: The Story of Carol Kennicott
by Lewis, Sinclair
- Used
- Hardcover
- first
- Condition
- Collectible-Very Good (-)/No Jacket
- Seller
-
Long Beach, Washington, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
New York: Harcourt Brace and Howe, 1920 451 numbered pp; HB. Pages: clean, bright, tight; dampstain shows to bottom crnr edges, but not to pp themselves, a.e. tanned, mildly cocked. Cover: navy, orange and reverse titles front, reverse titles to orange block spine; moderate shelfwear, extrems worn through. First edition, but not first issue - points: pg number 49 is perfect, type batter evident to pg number 54 and to text on p 387.
Synopsis
Main Street by Sinclair Lewis is a satirical novel concerning small town America. The story follows Carol Milford, a liberal and free-spirited woman, as she marries Dr. William Kennicott and settles in his hometown of Gopher Prairie, Minnesota. Upon arrival, Carol is shocked by the conservatism and general backwardness of Gopher Prairie—which is loosely based on Lewis’ hometown of Sauk Centre, Minnesota. The residents of Gopher Prairie seem more interested in gossip than larger cultural or social issues, which frustrates Carol. In various attempts to reform the town, she implements one improvement project after another, all of them ending in failure. In the end, Carol realizes that her frustrations with the individuals of the town should really have been directed towards its institutions and that although she was been beaten, she has kept the faith. Lewis initially seems to be attacking his small town roots in the novel, but his satire is double-edged; Main Street is not only a critique of simple townspeople, but also of the superficial intellectuals who look down on them. Main Street was not expected to be a commercial success. Lewis anticipated selling 10,000 copies; Harcourt, Brace and Howe anticipated 20,000. In the first six months of 1921, Main Street sold over 180,000 copies. Main Street is ranked 68th on Modern Library’s “100 Best” English-language novels of the 20th century. The novel was initially awarded the Pulitzer Prize for literature that year, but the Board of Trustees overturned the decision and gave the prize to Edith Wharton for The Age of Innocence instead. (In 1925, Lewis rejected the Pulitzer Prize for Arrowsmith because he felt that he had deserved the prize for Main Street.)
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Details
- Bookseller
- Independent Books
(US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 032820
- Title
- Main Street: The Story of Carol Kennicott
- Author
- Lewis, Sinclair
- Format/Binding
- Cloth
- Book Condition
- Used - Collectible-Very Good (-)
- Jacket Condition
- No Jacket
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Edition
- First Edition
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Publisher
- Harcourt Brace and Howe
- Place of Publication
- New York
- Date Published
- 1920
- Size
- 12mo - over 6¾" - 7&
- Keywords
- literature, Fiction, Collectible
Terms of Sale
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About the Seller
Independent Books
Biblio member since 2005
Long Beach, Washington
About Independent Books
Independent Books deals in used, antiquarian, and rare collectible volumes. Our books are in great condition -- we provide value to you by offering the book in the best condition for the best price, and we frequently have one-of-a-kind collectibles in extraordinary shape. A tremendous resource for the discriminating collector/connoisseur. Service and client satisfaction are our hallmarks. We are glad to conduct research or locate a difficult-to-find title. Our book rating standards are as follows; nearly all of our stock is VG or better: As New (AN)-just as states, clean, bright, tight, no defects. Fine-AN, but not as bright, minor marks or other minor defects. Very Good (VG)-small to modest tears, chips, marks, cocked etc. Good (G)-not so much, with larger tears or chips, possibly soiled, cocked, etc. Fair-ugly, with pages or large areas of DJ missing or other major defects. Poor(P)-truly ugly, disbound or requiring other major rehabilitation. We stabilize most minor defects with archival quality materials, and with few exceptions, these stabilizations are reversible
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- First Edition
- In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...
- Edges
- The collective of the top, fore and bottom edges of the text block of the book, being that part of the edges of the pages of a...
- Cocked
- Refers to a state where the spine of a book is lightly "twisted" in such a way that the front and rear boards of a book do not...
- Shelfwear
- Minor wear resulting from a book being place on, and taken from a bookshelf, especially along the bottom edge.
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