The Theodore Dreiser Library cover art

The Theodore Dreiser Library

The Theodore Dreiser Library

Written by: Theodore Dreiser
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Here are the restless men and women of America, hungry for wealth, love, beauty, position, and that ever-receding promise called happiness.

The Theodore Dreiser Library presents the works of one of America’s great chroniclers of ambition and desire, read in full. From the crowded streets and glittering theatres of Sister Carrie to the terrible longing at the heart of An American Tragedy, Dreiser follows ordinary lives caught in the immense machinery of money, circumstance, passion, and fate.

Enter his America, and listen.Public domain
Episodes
  • Jennie Gerhardt Chapter 22

    Jennie Gerhardt Chapter 22
    Sep 23 2026
    In which Jennie Gerhardt faces a profound predicament, finding herself at a crossroads where kindness and necessity entwine in the offer of aid from Lester, a man moved by her family’s hardship and earnest struggles. Their conversation unveils the tender complexities of hope and hesitation, as Jennie contemplates the possibilities of escape and security weighed against fidelity to her familiar life.
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    14 mins
  • Jennie Gerhardt Chapter 20

    Jennie Gerhardt Chapter 20
    Sep 22 2026
    In which Lester Kane returns home to the familiar comforts of family and genteel society, engaging in easy conversation and sensing the quiet expectations of those around him regarding his future. Amidst this, his thoughts linger on Jennie, a woman of unassuming grace and sincere nature, inspiring him to compose a heartfelt letter that seeks to bridge the distance between them.
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    5 mins
  • Jennie Gerhardt Chapter 17

    Jennie Gerhardt Chapter 17
    Sep 21 2026
    In which Jennie Gerhardt finds herself shaken by a sudden and unexpected encounter with Lester Kane, a man of wealth and complicated thoughts who is drawn to her in a manner that defies their social differences. Lester, a man wrestling with modernity's confusing demands and his own restless nature, contemplates a relationship unbound by convention, captivated by Jennie’s rare beauty and spirit amid the humble surroundings of her life.
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    14 mins
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