Read by Adam Sims

George Babbitt has it all: a successful real estate job, a shiny car, a modern house equipped with all the latest technology, and a devoted wife and three children. However, underneath his public persona, he's beginning to feel that something is missing, and when a tragic incident occurs Babbitt revolts against his hollow life. Can he overthrow everything he values, or will he remain trapped in the machinery of modern life? Set and published in the prohibition era of the 1920s, Babbitt remains as fresh and relevant today as when it was first published. Its take on American consumerist culture, middle-class life and conformism was instrumental in the decision to award Sinclair Lewis the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1930

Mode of access: World Wide Web