American classic that paved the way for a generation of writers that included Theodore Dreiser and Sinclair Lewis. When first published in 1889 it shocked the reading public. Almost forgotten today, novelist Frank Norris chronicles the rise and fall of McTeague, a powerful dentist in a tale of true-life violence set in turn-of-the-century San Francisco. Written in a detached, predictable and repetitive style that many readers found disturbing.