McTeague (Magill’s Survey of American Literature, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Frank Norris
- First Published: 1899
- Type of Work: Novel
- Genres: Long fiction, Naturalistic literature
- Subjects: North America or North Americans, United States or Americans, Murder or homicide, Nineteenth century, Marriage, California, West, U.S., Alcoholism or alcoholics, Domestic violence, Jealousy, envy, or resentment, Substance abuse, Violence, Revenge, Greed, Mines, miners, or mining, Cruelty, San Francisco, Dentistry or dentists, Deserts, Gold, Precious metals or stones, Lotteries
- Locales: San Francisco, CA, Death Valley, CA
Norris had begun writing McTeague while a student at Harvard, but by the time of its publication seven years later, in 1899, the influence of French and Russian naturalism was well recognized in American literary communities. Yet no native novelist had yet created quite so grim and unyielding a representation as Norris did in this, his first major novel. McTeague is deeply indebted to the works of Zola, whose naturalistic-romantic vision of the complex nature of human relationships and the compelling forces which led men and women into destructive behavior patterns...
[The entire page is 1058 words long]
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