Widely considered Sinclair Lewis's greatest novel, Babbitt, satirized the American social landscape and created a sensation upon its publication in 1922.

Prosperous and socially prominent, George Babbitt appears to have everything a man could wish: good health, a fine family, and a profitable business in a booming midwestern city. But the middle-aged real estate agent is shaken from his self-satisfaction by a growing restlessness with the limitations of his life. When a personal crisis forces a reexamination of his values, Babbitt mounts a rebellion against social expectations — jeopardizing his reputation and business standing as well as his marriage.

SINCLAIR LEWIS (1885-1951) was an American playwright and novelist. He published Babbitt, his most famous work, in 1922; in 1926 he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for his novel Arrowsmith but rejected it. In 1930 he was the first American to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. His last novel World So Wide was published posthumously. Babbitt ranks among the most important 20th-century works that address the struggles of people caught in the machinery of modern life, and remains a cautionary tale against crassly clinging to what one thinks are the “proper” values.