Shows / The Theodore Dreiser Library
The Theodore Dreiser Library
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…
Episodes
- The Theodore Dreiser Library
Jennie Gerhardt Chapter 33
In which the family’s discovery of Lester’s unconventional living situation stirs a mixture of indignation and concern, prompting a heartfelt and cautious…
- The Theodore Dreiser Library
Jennie Gerhardt Chapter 34
In which the immutable laws of nature are likened to the invisible yet potent boundaries of human society, within which a man’s misstep may not destroy him…
- The Theodore Dreiser Library
Jennie Gerhardt Chapter 32
In which the fabric of Lester Kane’s public and private worlds begins to fray as his relationship with Jennie Gerhardt becomes increasingly impossible to…
- The Theodore Dreiser Library
Jennie Gerhardt Chapter 31
In which the quiet reunion of mother and child brings a gentle warmth to their humble home, while a man named Lester cautiously navigates the delicate presence…
- The Theodore Dreiser Library
Jennie Gerhardt Chapter 29
In which a sudden illness compels Jennie to confront the secrets she has long hidden, prompting a painful reckoning with Lester as the truth about her child’s…
- The Theodore Dreiser Library
Jennie Gerhardt Chapter 30
In which Mr Lester grapples with the complexities of his relationship with Jennie, burdened by the revelation of her past and the presence of her child, Vesta…
- The Theodore Dreiser Library
Jennie Gerhardt Chapter 27
In which Lester Kane, caught between family duty and personal desire, wrestles with his place in a shifting business empire while considering his relationship…
- The Theodore Dreiser Library
Jennie Gerhardt Chapter 28
In which the steady intimacy between Jennie and Lester unfolds with gentle nuances of affection and trust, whilst Jennie navigates the delicate complications…
- The Theodore Dreiser Library
Jennie Gerhardt Chapter 25
In which Jennie reveals to her family the intention of her suitor Lester to wed her, prompting a mixture of hope and suspicion, while her father wrestles with…
- The Theodore Dreiser Library
Jennie Gerhardt Chapter 26
In which the Gerhardt family endures the gradual unraveling of their fortunes and cohesion, shadowed by Jennie’s complex relationship with Lester and the quiet…
- The Theodore Dreiser Library
Jennie Gerhardt Chapter 23
In which Jennie Gerhardt finds herself poised at the threshold of a new and dazzling chapter, backed by the kindness and financial support of a man who…
- The Theodore Dreiser Library
Jennie Gerhardt Chapter 24
In which the complex relationships within the Kane family unfold alongside Lester’s deepening involvement with Jennie, setting him at odds with his staunchly…
- The Theodore Dreiser Library
Jennie Gerhardt Chapter 22
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…
- The Theodore Dreiser Library
Jennie Gerhardt Chapter 21
In which Jennie Gerhardt confronts the grim realities of her family’s sudden hardship following her father’s severe injury, prompting a profound reassessment…
- The Theodore Dreiser Library
Jennie Gerhardt Chapter 19
In which Lester Kane wrestles quietly with a powerful attraction to Jennie Gerhardt, whose gentle spirit and tender nature stir in him a hope that they might…
- The Theodore Dreiser Library
Jennie Gerhardt Chapter 20
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…
- The Theodore Dreiser Library
Jennie Gerhardt Chapter 17
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…
- The Theodore Dreiser Library
Jennie Gerhardt Chapter 18
In which Jennie finds herself beset by a gnawing dilemma, torn between her conscience and the demands of a persistent admirer who seeks her companionship and…
- The Theodore Dreiser Library
Jennie Gerhardt Chapter 15
In which the solemn question of an infant’s baptism unfolds amidst the complex feelings of duty, faith, and family ties, revealing a grandfather’s sincere if…
- The Theodore Dreiser Library
Jennie Gerhardt Chapter 16
In which Jennie Gerhardt navigates the quiet struggles of her modest household and the unwelcome attentions of various men, embodying a gentle and yielding…
- The Theodore Dreiser Library
Jennie Gerhardt Chapter 13
In which Jennie, newly arrived in the bustling city of Cleveland, endeavours to find employment amidst the clatter and crowd, seeking to lift her family out of…
- The Theodore Dreiser Library
Jennie Gerhardt Chapter 14
In which Jennie’s tenure at the Bracebridge household imparts lessons not only in refinement but in the subtle stratifications of social life, while a visit…
- The Theodore Dreiser Library
Jennie Gerhardt Chapter 11
In which Jennie Gerhardt confronts the silent condemnation of society as she experiences the natural yet stigmatized event of impending motherhood, enduring…
- The Theodore Dreiser Library
Jennie Gerhardt Chapter 12
In which Bass, arriving in the bustling city of Cleveland, envisions a new beginning for his family amidst the promise of honest work and fresh surroundings…
- The Theodore Dreiser Library
Jennie Gerhardt Chapter 10
In which Jennie finds herself cast out into a world indifferent to virtue and aching with the harsh lessons of society’s judgments, while Bass, moved by her…
- The Theodore Dreiser Library
Jennie Gerhardt Chapter 9
In which Jennie Gerhardt is confronted with the shattering news of the death of a man whose intentions for her had sparked hope, and she grapples with the…
- The Theodore Dreiser Library
Jennie Gerhardt Chapter 7
In which Gerhardt struggles to find help to free his son from jail after a troubling arrest, and Jennie bravely takes it upon herself to seek assistance from…
- The Theodore Dreiser Library
Jennie Gerhardt Chapter 8
In which Jennie Gerhardt, caught in the bewildering tides of newfound affection and hope, contemplates the promising yet uncertain future offered by Senator…
- The Theodore Dreiser Library
Jennie Gerhardt Chapter 5
In which the Senator’s generous attentions illuminate Jennie’s otherwise modest existence, casting a light of kindness and novel experience upon her youthful…
- The Theodore Dreiser Library
Jennie Gerhardt Chapter 6
In which the steadfast and honest Gerhardt family wrestles with the burdens of poverty and societal judgment, as the father grapples with the unsettling…
- The Theodore Dreiser Library
Jennie Gerhardt Chapter 4
In which Jennie Gerhardt's burgeoning acquaintance with the distinguished Senator Brander unfolds amid the modest surroundings of her family’s humble home, as…
- The Theodore Dreiser Library
Jennie Gerhardt Chapter 3
In which the distinguished and solitary Senator Brander becomes acquainted with Jennie Gerhardt and her struggling family, softening his thoughts through their…
- The Theodore Dreiser Library
Jennie Gerhardt Chapter 2
In which Jennie Gerhardt is introduced as a gentle and tender soul, shaped by hardship yet suffused with a quiet, enduring goodness that finds solace in the…
- The Theodore Dreiser Library
Jennie Gerhardt Chapter 1
In which a mother and her pretty, timid daughter, driven by poverty and illness in their household, seek and find humble work cleaning at a grand hotel in…