Jennie Gerhardt

She gives generously in a world that judges harshly. For a young woman born into poverty, love offers shelter-but never protection from the demands of social standing.

Set in late nineteenth-century America, Theodore Dreiser's Jennie Gerhardt follows the daughter of a struggling German immigrant family in Columbus, Ohio. Working alongside her mother in a hotel, Jennie attracts the attention of Senator George Brander. Their relationship changes her future, bringing motherhood and consequences that a rigid moral order places chiefly on her shoulders.

Later, Jennie's bond with Lester Kane, the son of a wealthy manufacturer, brings material comfort without lasting security. Lester's affection runs up against his family's expectations and the claims of inheritance, while Jennie must weigh her own needs against loyalty to those she loves. Through her daughter Vesta, her stern Lutheran father, and the unequal bargains of her intimate life, Dreiser makes the pressures of class painfully personal. The novel's enduring force lies in its refusal to mistake social respectability for moral worth.

What readers find inside:

This novel will appeal to readers of American literary classics, stories of women confronting social constraint, and searching portraits of class and family life.

Enter Jennie's world and discover a life whose quiet generosity challenges the values of everyone around her.