Literary masters : Theodore Dreiser

Literary Masters is one series of the trio that makes up the Gale Study Guides to Great Literature (the others are Literary Masterpieces and Literary Topics). Each Literary Masters volume introduces a significant author and covers basic biographical information. Theodore Dreiser grew up in dysfunctional family with an overly strict, religious father and a mother who could always find "the silver lining". As a result, many of Dreiser's novels signal the diminished role of religious belief among most Americans at the time (1911-1940).