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 is a Lecturer in the Program in Writing and Rhetoric at Stanford, the book reviews editor for the Journal of Modern Periodical Studies, and a member of the advisory board for the Hemingway Review blog. She holds a BA in Comparative Literature and Italian from UCLA, and a Ph.D. in English from UC Santa Barbara. Prior to arriving at Stanford, she was a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Kilachand Honors College at Boston University.

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.