Dodsworth

Sinclair Lewis

Dodsworth is a 1929 novel by Sinclair Lewis about a wealthy, recently retired American auto manufacturer, Samuel Dodsworth, and his wife Fran, whose European vacation exposes the deep cracks in their marriage.

The story explores themes of marriage, identity, and the clash between American and European cultures. As Fran becomes increasingly drawn to European sophistication, Sam finds himself feeling alienated and must confront their relationship's breakdown and his own search for meaning.

In conversation with

Nissa Ren Cannon teaches academic research writing at Stanford University. She holds a Ph.D. in English from UC Santa Barbara, and a B.A. in Comparative Literature from UCLA. Her research focuses on the interwar expatriate experience. She sits on the board of the Modernist Studies Association and the Hemingway Review blog, and is the book reviews editor for the Journal of Modern Periodical Studies. She lives in San Francisco with her family.

Sheila Liming is an Associate Professor at Champlain College and author of Hanging Out: The Radical Power of Killing Time (2023) and What a Library Means to a Woman: Edith Wharton and the Will to Collect Books (2020). Her writing has appeared in publications like The Atlantic, The New York Review of Books, McSweeney’s, The Los Angeles Review of Books and The Globe and Mail. She lives, works, and plays the bagpipes and the accordion in Burlington, Vermont.