{"product_id":"the-metropolis-literary-classics-paperback","title":"The Metropolis: Literary Classics - Paperback","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eUpton Sinclair\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn this 1907 novel about the extravagant life of New York City's high society, the author of The Jungle, presents a richly detailed portrait of the wealthy elite of \"The Metropolis.\"Allan Montague, a lawyer of thirty, moves to New York City from Mississippi, along with his mother and cousin Alice, to join his younger brother Oliver, who had taken up residence there several years before. The newcomers soon discover that Oliver has become a highly networked member of a fast-paced social circuit comprising some of the most powerful members of the business class. Oliver wastes no time in introducing Allan and Alice into this exclusive group in the hope that they will all prosper through their connections.Sinclair devotes much of the novel to depictions of the profligate and jaded party life of the very rich, who spend vast sums of money on entertainment and new toys to relieve their boredom. Expensive cars (still a novelty at this time), lavishly furnished limousines and private trains, sumptuous dinners attended by liveried servants, tailor-made clothing costing thousands of dollars are described with meticulous attention to the enormous cost of it all. Sinclair also spares no detail in describing the rampant alcoholism, marital affairs, malicious gossip, backstabbing, and shallow values of this set.When Allan agrees to represent a wealthy client in a suit against powerful insurance interests, he becomes caught in a web of influence and secret dealings that threaten his recently established social standing and the wellbeing of his whole family.This early 20th-century version of Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous with a cynical edge and a socialist reformer's perspective provides a fascinating glimpse into the elite social life of the very wealthy of New York before the Great Depression.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eUpton Sinclair\u003c\/b\u003e (1878 - 1968) achieved early fame for his novel \u003ci\u003eThe Jungle\u003c\/i\u003e(1906). Intended to lead to improved working conditions for the exploited immigrant workers in the meat-packing industry, \u003ci\u003eThe Jungle\u003c\/i\u003e led to passage of the Pure Food and Drug Act, to protect consumers. Publication of the novel placed Sinclair in the ranks of the early twentieth-century muckraking writers who used their pens to expose corruption and social injustice. He used the royal-ties from \u003ci\u003eThe Jungle\u003c\/i\u003e to help found a cooperative-living venture, Helicon Hall, in Englewood, New Jersey. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eHis interest in social and industrial reform underlies most of his over eighty books, including the topical and polemical novels \u003ci\u003eThe Moneychangers \u003c\/i\u003e(1908), \u003ci\u003eKing Coal\u003c\/i\u003e(1917), \u003ci\u003eOil!\u003c\/i\u003e (1927), and \u003ci\u003eBoston\u003c\/i\u003e (1928); a cycle of eleven historical novels about a contemporary American, Lanny Budd; and many political and social studies such as \u003ci\u003eThe Profits of Religion\u003c\/i\u003e (1918) and \u003ci\u003eThe Goose-Step\u003c\/i\u003e (1923). Sinclair won the 1942 Pulitzer Prize for \u003ci\u003eDragon's Teeth\u003c\/i\u003e, the third novel in the Lanny Budd series. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eFor many years he was active in California politics. In 1934 he received the Democ-ratic nomination for governor of California, running on the Socialist reform platform EPIC (End Poverty In California). He founded the American Civil Liberties Union in California.\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 286\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.6 x 8.36 x 5.48 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e March 24, 2009\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49377607712907,"sku":"9781591027065","price":27.71,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0670\/2579\/7259\/files\/VgXFvapAUD9781591027065.webp?v=1789624328","url":"https:\/\/thetaletrade.com\/products\/the-metropolis-literary-classics-paperback","provider":"The Tale Trade","version":"1.0","type":"link"}