An Amateur Laborer

An Amateur Laborer
First edition
AuthorTheodore Dreiser
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Genreautobiography
PublisherUniversity of Pennsylvania Press
Publication date
1983

An Amateur Laborer is an autobiographical book by Theodore Dreiser.

Overview[edit]

Although started in 1904, it was only published posthumously in 1983.[1]

The book is an autobiographical account of a three-year struggle with neurasthenia[1] in the aftermath of Sister Carrie 's financial failure.[2] After being constantly turned down for publications while living in Brooklyn, Dreiser finds a job as a manual worker on a railroad.[2] Eventually, his brother Paul Dresser sends him to a health resort, leading to his replenished morale.[2]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Keith Newlin, A Theodore Dreiser Encyclopedia, Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 2003, p. 8 [1]
  2. ^ a b c E.L. Doctorow, 'The Novelist Who Was Born', The New York Times, December 4, 1983 [2]