McTeague: A Story of San Francisco

First published in 1899, this graphic depiction of urban American life centers around McTeague, a “dentist” practicing in San Francisco at the turn of the century. While at first content with his life and friendship with an ambitious man named Marcus, McTeague eventually courts and marries Trina, a parsimonious young woman who wins a large sum of money in a lottery. It is not long before the jealousy and avarice of the majority of the characters in the novel sets off a chain of inevitable and increasingly horrific events. Norris’ work, so strikingly different from that of his contemporaries, is an admirable example of social realism, which provided America with a shocking reflection of its sordid sense of survival. From the opening description of San Francisco to McTeague’s final desperate flight far from his ‘Dental Parlors, ‘ this novel examines human greed in a way that still causes readers to pause and reflect.