Sinclair Lewis

Sinclair Lewis (1885–1951) was a pioneering American novelist and social satirist. Born in Sauk Centre, Minnesota, he drew on his Midwestern upbringing to critique provincialism and materialism. His major works include Main Street (1920), a biting portrait of small-town life; Babbitt (1922), which coined the term for a complacent businessman; and Arrowsmith (1925), a novel about medical ethics. In 1930, Lewis became the first American to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, honored for his vigorous and graphic art of description and his ability to create types with wit and humor. His work influenced later American realists and remains a touchstone for understanding early 20th-century American society.