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Arrowsmith
Literary Fiction · Thoughtful

A young doctor's struggle to stay true to science

Arrowsmith

by Sinclair Lewis

1925440 pagesModerate readSteady pace
★ Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, 1926

A young scientist tries to keep his ideals through a career in medicine

Arrowsmith begins in Elk Mills, a small town in the fictional state of Winnemac in the Midwest, and moves through other Midwestern locations to New York City. Martin Arrowsmith, a talented, science-minded young man, leaves his hometown in pursuit of a career in science and medicine. Along the way he struggles to balance his ideals against personal relationships, professional ambition and financial pressures.

More about this book

Who

Martin Arrowsmith, a talented, science-minded young man.

World

The fictional Midwestern state of Winnemac, and New York City.

What makes it different

It won the 1926 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, which Lewis declined. The science writer Paul de Kruif helped Lewis with the book and received 25 percent of its royalties. A 1931 film starred Ronald Colman and Helen Hayes.

Feel

Earnest, with a satirical edge.

See it on Amazon

Page count and cover shown for: Selected edition

Behind the book

Science writer Paul de Kruif helped Lewis with the book and received 25 percent of its royalties, though Lewis was listed as sole author.

Source: Wikipedia

Further reading

About the author

Sinclair LewisAmerican novelist, short-story writer and playwright. In 1930 he became the first American to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, and he declined the 1926 Pulitzer Prize for Arrowsmith.