Elmer Gantry (Annotated)
Enriched Edition. A Jazz Age Satire of American Evangelism, Revivalist Charlatans, and Roaring Twenties Religious HypocrisyBy Sinclair Lewis
Length19h 30m
About this audiobook
Elmer Gantry is Sinclair Lewis's caustic 1927 novel of American religious commerce, following a swaggering, morally elastic salesman of salvation from college athletics and seminary posturing into the revivalist pulpit. Written in Lewis's brisk satirical realism, the book exposes the theatrical machinery of evangelism, the seductions of power, and the uneasy kinship between spiritual rhetoric and commercial advertising. In the context of the 1920s—Prohibition, mass media, and fundamentalist-modernist conflict—it stands as one of the era's sharpest indictments of public piety divorced from ethical substance. Sinclair Lewis, the first American to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature, made a career of anatomizing national myths in Main Street, Babbitt, and Arrowsmith. His Midwestern upbringing, journalistic habits, and fascination with social institutions gave him a keen eye for cant, boosterism, and self-invention. In Elmer Gantry, his skepticism toward organized respectability and manipulative persuasion finds one of its most controversial and enduring forms. This novel is recommended to readers interested in American satire, religious history, and the cultural tensions of the Jazz Age. It remains bracing, funny, and disturbing, not merely as an attack on hypocrisy, but as a study of charisma in a society eager to be convinced.
This enriched edition has been carefully crafted to add value to your reading experience.
- A succinct Introduction situates the work's timeless appeal and themes.
- The Synopsis outlines the central plot, highlighting key developments without spoiling critical twists.
- A detailed Historical Context immerses you in the era's events and influences that shaped the writing.
- An Author Biography reveals milestones in the author's life, illuminating the personal insights behind the text.
- A thorough Analysis dissects symbols, motifs, and character arcs to unearth underlying meanings.
- Reflection questions prompt you to engage personally with the work's messages, connecting them to modern life.
- Hand‐picked Memorable Quotes shine a spotlight on moments of literary brilliance.
- Interactive footnotes clarify unusual references, historical allusions, and archaic phrases for an effortless, more informed read.
Audiobook details
GenreHumor, General Fiction
Length19 hrs 30 mins
Narrated byListen with 1,000+ voices
FormateBook with Audio
Publish dateJul 29, 2018
LanguageEnglish
Table of contents
1Elmer Gantry (Annotated)
22CHAPTER XVII
2Introduction
23CHAPTER XVIII
3Synopsis
24CHAPTER XIX
4Historical Context
25CHAPTER XX
5Author Biography
26CHAPTER XXI
Show all chaptersShow less
6CHAPTER I
27CHAPTER XXII
7CHAPTER II
28CHAPTER XXIII
8CHAPTER III
29CHAPTER XXIV
9CHAPTER IV
30CHAPTER XXV
10CHAPTER V
31CHAPTER XXVI
11CHAPTER VI
32CHAPTER XXVII
12CHAPTER VII
33CHAPTER XXVIII
13CHAPTER VIII
34CHAPTER XXIX
14CHAPTER IX
35CHAPTER XXX
15CHAPTER X
36CHAPTER XXXI
16CHAPTER XI
37CHAPTER XXXII
17CHAPTER XII
38CHAPTER XXXIII
18CHAPTER XIII
39Analysis
19CHAPTER XIV
40Reflection
20CHAPTER XV
41Memorable Quotes
21CHAPTER XVI
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