New York:: Harcourt, Brace and Company,, 1920.. First edition, first state with unbattered type on pp. 54 and 387.. publisher's blue cloth stamped in orange.. Some light dust-soiling to the endsheets; cloth a little faded and lightly rubbed at extremities. . 8vo,.

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: Jeffrey H. Marks Rare Books (US)
Bookseller's Inventory #: 23512
Title: Main Street: The Story of Carol Kennicott.
Author: LEWIS, Sinclair
Format/Binding: Publisher's blue cloth stamped in orange.
Book Condition: Used - Some light dust-soiling to the endsheets; cloth a little faded and lightly rubbed at extremities.
Edition: First edition, first state with unbattered type on pp. 54 and 38
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Harcourt, Brace and Company,
Place of Publication: New York:
Date Published: 1920.
Pages: 451 pp.
Size: 8vo,

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Jeffrey H. Marks Rare Books

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Jeffrey H. Marks Rare Books

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About Jeffrey H. Marks Rare Books

Specializing in modern first editions since 1978. Fine and rare books in all fields.

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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...
Cloth: "Cloth-bound" generally refers to a hardcover book with cloth covering the outside of the book covers. The cloth is stretched...
First State: used in book collecting to refer to a book from the earliest run of a first edition, generally distinguished by a change in some...