Frank Norris

Inspired by The Mussel Slough Tragedy, an 1880 dispute over land titles between California settlers and the Southern Pacific Railroad, Frank Norris' 1901 novel, "The Octopus: A California Story", is the first part in his unfinished trilogy, "The Epic of Wheat". The novel depicts the conflict between wheat farmers in the San Joaquin Valley and the Pacific and Southwestern Railroad. When the railroad company attempts to take possession of land leased to and improved by the farmers, the farmers are forced to defend themselves and their claims to the land that they rely on for their livelihood. A powerful social and political commentary, "The Octopus" focuses on how the powers of big business, in this case railroads and their unfair monopolies, are leveraged against the interests of the common man. The second volume of "The Epic of Wheat" trilogy, "The Pit", which focused on the distribution of wheat in Chicago, was published after Norris' death and the third installment, to be titled "The Wolf", which was intended to focus on the effects of famine, was never written. Epic in scope, richly detailed, and satisfyingly realistic, "The Octopus" is a testament to the tragedy often wrought by unchecked corporate power and greed. This edition is printed on premium acid-free paper.

Blix, is many of the old classic books which have been considered important throughout the human history. They are now extremely scarce and very expensive antique. So that this work is never forgotten we republish these books in high quality, using the original text and artwork so that they can be preserved for the present and future generations. This whole book has been reformatted, retyped and designed. These books are not made of scanned copies of their original work and hence the text is clear and readable.

This book has been considered by academicians and scholars of great significance and value to literature. This book forms a part of the knowledge base for future generations. So that the book is never forgotten we have re-typed, re-formatted, and re-published the book in a very modern format. Hence every reader would get a new book but without losing its old charm and feel. We at Alpha Editions, work towards the restoration of old and rare books so that they are never forgotten and are always available for the future generations.

This book has been considered by academicians and scholars of great significance and value to literature. This book forms a part of the knowledge base for future generations. So that the book is never forgotten we have re-typed, re-formatted, and re-published the book in a very modern format. Hence every reader would get a new book but without losing its old charm and feel. We at Alpha Editions, work towards the restoration of old and rare books so that they are never forgotten and are always available for the future generations.

First published in 1899, this graphic depiction of urban American life centers around its title character, McTeague, a dentist practicing in San Francisco at the turn of the century. While at first content with his life and friendship with an ambitious man named Marcus, McTeague eventually courts and marries Trina, a frugal young woman who wins a large sum of money in a lottery. The greed of the majority of the characters in the novel creates a chain of events that lead to many painful, gruesome deaths. Norris' work, so strikingly different from that of his contemporaries, is an admirable example of social realism, which provided America with a shocking reflection of its sordid sense of survival. From the opening description of San Francisco to McTeague's final desperate flight far from his 'Dental Parlors', this novel examines human greed in a way that still causes readers to pause and reflect over one hundred years later. This edition is printed on premium acid-free paper.

We are happy to announce this classic book. Many of the books in our collection have not been published for decades and are therefore not broadly available to the readers. Our goal is to access the very large literary repository of general public books. The main contents of our entire classical books are the original works. To ensure high quality products, all the titles are chosen carefully by our staff. We hope you enjoy this classic.

It was Sunday, and, according to his custom on that day, McTeague took his dinner at two in the afternoon at the car conductors' coffee-joint on Polk Street. He had a thick gray soup; heavy, underdone meat, very hot, on a cold plate; two kinds of vegetables; and a sort of suet pudding, full of strong butter and sugar. On his way back to his office, one block above, he stopped at Joe Frenna's saloon and bought a pitcher of steam beer. It was his habit to leave the pitcher there on his way to dinner. Once in his office, or, as he called it on his signboard, "Dental Parlors," he took off his coat and shoes, unbuttoned his vest, and, having crammed his little stove full of coke, lay back in his operating chair at the bay window, reading the paper, drinking his beer, and smoking his huge porcelain pipe while his food digested; crop-full, stupid, and warm. By and by, gorged with steam beer, and overcome by the heat of the room, the cheap tobacco, and the effects of his heavy meal, he dropped off to sleep. Late in the afternoon his canary bird, in its gilt cage just over his head, began to sing. He woke slowly, finished the rest of his beer-very flat and stale by this time-and taking down his concertina from the bookcase, where in week days it kept the company of seven volumes of "Allen's Practical Dentist," played upon it some half-dozen very mournful airs.

Reproduction of the original: A Man s Woman by Frank Norris

Reproduction of the original: A Deal in Wheat by Frank Norris

Reproduction of the original: The Octopus by Frank Norris

Reproduction of the original: Vandover and the Brute by Frank Norris

Reproduction of the original: The Pit by Frank Norris

Reproduction of the original: A Deal in Wheat by Frank Norris

Reproduction of the original: Blix by Frank Norris