Advanced Search Request a Book

ORDERS

Readings Orders 0

DEMANDS

Readings Demands 0

The Octopus:a Story Of California
[Paperback - 1994]
frank norris
On Demand
Availability in 4-6 weeks on receipt of order
List Price: $26
Our Price: Rs.4795 Rs.4076
Standard Discount: 15%
You Save: Rs.719
Category: Fiction
Sub-category: Classics
Additional Category: Historical Fiction - Literary Fiction
Publisher: Penguin Classics | ISBN: 9780140187700 | Pages: 688
Shipping Weight: .533 | Dimensions: 5.28 x 1.56 x 7.75 inches

Description

Like the tentacles of an octopus, the tracks of the railroad reached out across California, as if to grasp everything of value in the state Based on an actual, bloody dispute between wheat farmers and the Southern Pacific Railroad in 1880, The Octopus is a stunning novel of the waning days of the frontier West. To the tough-minded and self-reliant farmers, the monopolistic, land-grabbing railroad represented everything they despised: consolidation, organization, conformity. But Norris idealizes no one in this epic depiction of the volatile situation, for the farmers themselves ruthlessly exploited the land, and in their hunger for larger holdings they resorted to the same tactics used by the railroad: subversion, coercion and outright violence. In his introduction, Kevin Starr discusses Norris's debt to Zola for the novel's extraordinary sweep, scale and abundance of characters and details.

About the Author

Naturalistic novels of noted American writerBenjamin Franklin Norris, Junior, brother ofCharles Gilman Norrisand sister-in-law ofKathleen Thompson Norris, about American life includeMcTeaguein 1899.This novelist during the Progressive era predominantly authored works that includeThe Octopus: A California Story(1901) andThe Pit(1903). Although he not openly supported socialism as a political system, his work nevertheless evinces a socialist mentality and influenced socialist-progressive writers, such asUpton Beall Sinclair. Philosophical defense ofThomas Henry Huxleyof the advent of Darwinism profoundly influenced him like many of his contemporaries. Norris studied underJoseph LeConte, who at the University of California, Berkeley, taught an optimistic strand of Darwinist philosophy that particularly influenced him. Through many of his novels, notablyMcTeague, runs a preoccupation with the notion of the civilized man overcoming the inner "brute," his animalistic tendencies. His peculiar and often confused brand of social Darwinism also bears the influence of the early criminologistCesare Lombrosoand the French naturalistÉmile Zola.

Also by the Same Author

View All
The Pit:a Story Of Chicago
[Paperback - 1994]
frank norris
On Demand
Availability in 4-6 weeks on receipt of order
List Price: $23
Our Price: Rs.3995 Rs.3396
Standard Discount: 15%
You Save: Rs.599
Mcteague:a Story Of San Francisco
[Paperback - 1994]
frank norris
On Demand
Availability in 4-6 weeks on receipt of order
List Price: $14
Our Price: Rs.2745 Rs.2333
Standard Discount: 15%
You Save: Rs.412
Mcteague
[Paperback - 2011]
frank norris
On Demand
Availability in 4-6 weeks on receipt of order
List Price: $7.95
Our Price: Rs.1595 Rs.1356
Standard Discount: 15%
You Save: Rs.239

Bestsellers in Fiction

View All
Before The Coffee Gets Cold: Before The Coffee Gets Cold (Book 1)
[Paperback - 2019]
toshikazu kawaguchi
In Stock
List Price: £10.99
Our Price: Rs.2295 Rs.2065
Standard Discount: 10%
You Save: Rs.230
A Little Life: Tiktok Made Me Buy It!
[Paperback - 2016]
hanya yanagihara
In Stock
List Price: £10.99
Our Price: Rs.2395 Rs.2155
Standard Discount: 10%
You Save: Rs.240
The Seven Husbands Of Evelyn Hugo: Tiktok Made Me Buy It!
[Paperback - 2021]
taylor jenkins reid
In Stock
List Price: £8.99
Our Price: Rs.2395 Rs.2155
Standard Discount: 10%
You Save: Rs.240
The Secret History: Tiktok Made Me Buy It!
[Paperback - 1993]
donna tartt
In Stock
List Price: £9.99
Our Price: Rs.2195 Rs.1975
Standard Discount: 10%
You Save: Rs.220
Book Lovers: Tiktok Made Me Buy It!
[Paperback - 2022]
emily henry
In Stock
List Price: £8.99
Our Price: Rs.2195 Rs.1975
Standard Discount: 10%
You Save: Rs.220
The Atlas Six: The Atlas Six Series (Book 1) Tiktok Made Me Buy It!
[Paperback - 2022]
olivie blake
In Stock
List Price: £9.99
Our Price: Rs.2395 Rs.2155
Standard Discount: 10%
You Save: Rs.240
Twisted Games: Twisted Love (Book 2) (Tiktok Made Me Buy It!)
[Paperback - 2022]
ana huang
In Stock
List Price: £9.99
Our Price: Rs.2295 Rs.2065
Standard Discount: 10%
You Save: Rs.230
It Ends With Us: It Ends With Us (Book 1) (Tiktok Made Me Buy It!)
[Paperback - 2016]
colleen hoover
In Stock
List Price: £7.99
Our Price: Rs.2395 Rs.2155
Standard Discount: 10%
You Save: Rs.240
Twisted Love: Twisted Love (Book 1) (Tiktok Made Me Buy It!)
[Paperback - 2022]
ana huang
In Stock
List Price: £9.99
Our Price: Rs.2195 Rs.1975
Standard Discount: 10%
You Save: Rs.220
King Of Wrath: Kings Of Sin (Book 1)
[Paperback - 2022]
ana huang
In Stock
List Price: £9.99
Our Price: Rs.2245 Rs.2020
Standard Discount: 10%
You Save: Rs.225
Final Offer: Dreamland Billionaires (Book 3) (Tiktok Made Me Buy It!)
[Paperback - 2023]
lauren asher
In Stock
List Price: £9.99
Our Price: Rs.2395 Rs.2155
Standard Discount: 10%
You Save: Rs.240
Icebreaker: The Maple Hills Series (Book 1) (Tiktok Made Me Buy It!)
[Paperback - 2023]
hannah grace
In Stock
List Price: £8.99
Our Price: Rs.2395 Rs.2155
Standard Discount: 10%
You Save: Rs.240