Following the success of Main Street, Sinclair Lewis penned Babbitt, a novel released in 1922. It centers on a middle-aged salesman navigating his uneasy quest for significance in an increasingly detached society. A 1998 Bantam Books edition, featuring an introduction by John Wickersham, is currently accessible.

In chapter 14 of Main Street, Lewis writes, “Her preparations for stalking out of the Doll’s House were not yet visible.” This alludes to Henrik Ibsen’s 1879 play, A Doll’s House, which portrays a determined wife challenging societal norms upon realizing she cannot remain with a husband who loves her but fails to respect her intellect. Dover Press released a thrift edition of this play in 1992.

Gustav Flaubert, a French author, is frequently cited as having created a clear inspiration for Carol Kennicott with his character, Emma Bovary. Both women are depicted as being stifled by their roles as wives to small-town doctors. Flaubert's 1857 novel, Madame Bovary, is available in a Bantam Classics edition published in 1982.

A generation before Lewis became known for his naturalistic portrayal of American small towns, Theodore Dreiser achieved acclaim for applying similar techniques to urban settings. His 1900 novel Sister Carrie narrates the story of a young country girl destroyed by the harshness of city life, leading her to a path of degradation and prostitution. Signet released a reissue in 2000, with an introduction by Richard Lingeman.

In 1899, Kate Chopin sparked significant controversy with her novel The Awakening, which explores a married woman's increasing awareness of her own intelligence and sensitivity. It is currently offered by Avon in a 1994 edition.

Willa Cather was renowned for capturing prairie life at the dawn of the twentieth century in her writing. Her novel My Antonia tells the story of a Bohemian peasant girl raised on a Nebraska farm, in a setting similar to those depicted by Lewis. Initially published in 1918, it is now available in a 1995 edition from Houghton Mifflin.

Sherwood Anderson, a contemporary of Lewis, authored Winesburg, Ohio, a celebrated collection of short stories in American literature. First released in 1919, it examines the suffocating nature of small-town life through the perspective of a teenage boy who sees his hometown as a place of “grotesques.” Bantam published a new edition in 1995.