Reviews
Review by: Robert D. Johnston, professor of History and director of the Teaching of History Program, University of Illinois Chicago; and author of THE RADICAL MIDDLE CLASS - June 2, 2025
"Edward Agran has once again written a book showcasing what he does so well: revealing how much we gain from substantially rethinking a major figure in our cultural and political history. Sinclair Lewis becomes, in Agran's skillful scholarly hands, a way to rethink so much about the United States, including such momentous issues of our day as the fate of the middle class, and even the fate of our republic under the shadow of fascism."
Review by: William Vance Trollinger, Jr., professor of History, University of Dayton; and author of GOD'S WILL - June 2, 2025
"In this winsomely written book Edward Agran repeatedly and brilliantly rescues Sinclair Lewis from the clutches of scholars who have (sadly) missed Lewis's import as a 'photographer' and interpreter of 1920s America. This book matters, and it is a great pleasure to read."
Review by: Sally E. Parry, professor emerita, Illinois State University; executive director, Sinclair Lewis Society; and coauthor of BROADWAY GOES TO WAR - June 2, 2025
"Edward Agran makes an enthusiastic case for reading Sinclair Lewis's major novels of the 1920s as a way of understanding that exciting and important decade in American history. By providing in-depth analyses, Agran shows how Lewis's writing captures the changing nature of the United States. The five 1920s novels critiqued encapsulate our national identity, providing readers with a window into such aspects as rural versus urban living, business, medicine, and religion. Although Lewis offers no definitive prescription on how to improve the society he’s critiquing, DODSWORTH, his 'capstone achievement' of the decade, provides some suggestions. Agran's presentation of the five novels shows the interconnectedness on Lewis's thoughts about his country, with DODSWORTH becoming both a summing up and a summons to progress. Lewis's work is still so very relevant."
Review by: Ursula McTaggart, professor of English and area coordinator of Prison Education, Wilmington College; and author of GUERRILLAS IN THE INDUSTRIAL JUNGLE - June 2, 2025
"Edward Agran views Sinclair Lewis through the generous eye of a historian. He pushes readers to acknowledge the novelist's contributions to literary studies and history. He defends Lewis against dismissive literary critics; he finds not only artistic but historical merit in his substantive 1920s works. Agran rightly sees Lewis's depiction of the hapless, but not hopeless, middle class as a touchstone in understanding the nation. The novelist could help us in our current predicament, as we stare collectively at our phones and fight meaninglessly with one another on social media as oligarchic despotism takes over. Agran argues Lewis's take on the 1920s adds to our understanding of the twentieth century. He believes Lewis's biting critique of the middle class reveals our collective problems and promise. Agran and Lewis want more for the United States than most of its citizens settle for: Snap out of our collective fog and build the democratic society of our political dreams."