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Summary
From the author of McTeague: The classic novel of corporate corruption and violent rebellion in the railroad industry. On May 11, 1880, at a San Joaquin Valley ranch, a shootout between tenant farmers and a sheriff's posse left seven dead. The dispute was over land rights. The law was acting in the service of the Southern Pacific Railroad. This tragedy marked the beginning of the end for the American frontier, and it became the inspiration for Frank...
Author
Series
Summary
The bestselling novel of financial speculation in the Progressive Era from the author of McTeague. Curtis Jadwin had to compete with other suitors to secure his wife's hand in marriage, but after a year of marital bliss, he finds himself captivated by another: the high-stakes competition at the Chicago Board of Trade. At first merely dabbling in wheat speculation, Jadwin soon becomes obsessed with making deals and the roaring excitement of the trading...
3) The octopus
Author
Summary
Inspired by The Mussel Slough Tragedy, an 1880 dispute over land titles between California settlers and the Southern Pacific Railroad, Frank Norris' 1901 novel, "The Octopus: A California Story", is the first part in the unfinished trilogy, "The Epic of Wheat". The novel depicts the conflict between wheat farmers in the San Joaquin Valley and the Pacific and Southwestern railroad. When the railroad attempts to take possession of land leased to and...