ELMER GANTRY
$13.75
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ELMER GANTRY is a satirical novel of social commentary written by American writer, SINCLAIR LEWIS that presents aspects of the religious activity of the United States. It was first published in the United States by Harcourt Trade Publishers in March 1927.
The novel explores the faith and the hypocrisy surrounding the religious activity in fundamentalist and evangelistic circles and the attitudes of the 1920s public toward it. Reverend Dr. Elmer Gantry, the protagonist, is attracted by drinking, chasing women, and making easy money (although eventually renouncing tobacco and alcohol). In the novel's fictional world, after various forays into smaller fringe churches, Gantry becomes a major moral and political force in the Methodist Church despite his hypocrisy and serial sexual indiscretions.
The character of Sharon Falconer was reportedly based on events in the life and career of the radio evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson, who founded the Pentecostal Christian denomination known as the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel in 1927.
The novel was adapted for the stage in 1928, and for the film, ELMER GANTRY in 1960, an opera, television, and a musical. The musical closed immediately after the first performance.
ELMER GANTRY
$13.75