Babbitt

From the author of It Can't Happen Here, a satirical portrait of a town obsessed by capitalism and the 'values' of the marketplace

Sinclair Lewis's wonderful demolition of the venal and pusillanimous nature of commercial America, Babbitt

One of the century's most perceptive writers on working life

His view of America was mordant, yet it was also unexpectedly loving; there is a tenderness in all three of these books that catches the reader unawares, and imbues them with a humanity that makes their satire all the more penetrating.

Sinclair Lewis's skewering of the 'image is everything' mentality is as relevant today as it was in his day

The broad concept of Babbittry - the idea that the average American lives in a benighted, blinkered spiritual state - has been both popular and durable... Lewis's central idea, like the name of his hero, has survived depression, war, the rise of the suburbs, the revolt of the cities, feminism, the sexual revolution, the counterculture, multiculturalism and the Internet

Sinclair Lewis was an American playwright and novelist. Born in 1885, he received his bachelor's degree from Yale University in 1908 and published his first novel, Hike and the Aeroplane, in 1912. He published Babbitt, perhaps his most famous work, in 1922 and in 1926 he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for his novel Arrowsmith but rejected it. In 1930 he was the first American to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. He died in Rome in 1951 and his last novel World So Wide was published posthumously.

BY THE AUTHOR OF IT CAN'T HAPPEN HERE 
 
Businessman George F. Babbitt loves the latest appliances, making money and the Republican party. In fact, he loves being a Solid Citizen even more than he loves his wife. But Babbitt comes to resent the middle class trappings he has worked so hard to acquire. Realising that his life is devoid of meaning, he grows determined to transcend his trivial existence and search for a greater purpose. 
 
 In the economic boom years of 1920s' America, Babbitt became a symbol of middle-class mediocrity, and his name an enduring part of the American lexicon.

Sinclair Lewis

You can't read Lewis' novel today without flashes of Trumpian recognition

An eerily prescient foreshadowing of current affairs

Eighty years later the novel feels frighteningly contemporary

Not only Lewis's most important book but one of the most important books ever produced in the United States

It's 1935 and discontent is rife in America. From the political margins appears Buzz Windrip, charismatic presidential candidate and 'inspired guesser at what political doctrines the people would like'. Sweeping to power amid mass elation, he promises wealth for all and the dawn of a glorious new era. Small-town newspaper editor Doremus Jessup is worried, especially when the new regime becomes increasingly authoritarian. But what can one individual do to fight an all-powerful state? Sinclair Lewis's terrifying cautionary tale pits liberal complacency against popular fascism and shows: yes, it really can happen here.

It Can't Happen Here

About us

About Us (Header 4)

Kate-Atkinson

James-Baldwin

Marian-Keyes

haruki-murakami-320×320-1

Richard-Osman

Malorie Blackman

Lisa-Jewell

Charlie-Mackesy

Authors (Header 3)

Children&#039;s

Company

Discover

Fiction

Non-fiction

Penguin Classics

Penguin Shop (Header 5)

Useful links

Work with us

prhuk-authors

Penguin Shop: 3 Clothbound Classics for £33

<a href="https://shop.penguin.co.uk/collections/book-bundles-modern-classics/?&amp;utm_source=Penguin.co.uk&amp;utm_medium=Linked_text&amp;utm_campaign=Penguin_Modern_Classics_Series_26_06">Choose 3 timeless classics for only £21 over on the Penguin Shop</a>

Sinclair Lewis

Praise for It Can't Happen Here

You can't read Lewis' novel today without flashes of Trumpian recognition

An eerily prescient foreshadowing of current affairs

Eighty years later the novel feels frighteningly contemporary

You can't read Lewis' novel today without flashes of Trumpian recognition

An eerily prescient foreshadowing of current affairs

Eighty years later the novel feels frighteningly contemporary

You can't read Lewis' novel today without flashes of Trumpian recognition

An eerily prescient foreshadowing of current affairs

Eighty years later the novel feels frighteningly contemporary

Books by Sinclair Lewis

Follow penguin

Follow ladybird

Follow puffin

Sign up to the Penguin newsletter