Characters

• Carol Milford Kennicott: The protagonist, an idealistic and ambitious young woman who attempts to bring culture and reform to Gopher Prairie.
• Dr. Will Kennicott: Carol's husband, a pragmatic small-town doctor who is content with life in Gopher Prairie.
• Vida Sherwin: A teacher in Gopher Prairie, who initially befriends Carol but later becomes her rival.
• Miles Bjornstam: The town handyman, known as “The Red Swede,” who shares Carol's progressive views.
• Bea Sorenson: Carol's maid, a young immigrant girl who marries Miles Bjornstam.
• Guy Pollock: A melancholic lawyer who briefly becomes Carol's confidant.
• Erik Valborg: A young tailor with artistic aspirations who develops a romantic interest in Carol.
• Cy Bogart: A local teenage troublemaker who represents the narrow-mindedness of the younger generation.
• Mrs. Bogart: Cy's mother, a pious and judgmental widow who frequently gossips about Carol.
• Fern Mullins: A young teacher who becomes embroiled in scandal and is defended by Carol.

Quick facts

• Main Street was the bestselling novel in the United States in 1921.
• Lewis based the fictional town of Gopher Prairie on his hometown of Sauk Centre, Minnesota.
• Main Street was banned by the public library in Alexandria, Minnesota, due to its unflattering portrayal of small-town life.
• Main Street was initially selected for the 1921 Pulitzer Prize but was overruled by the board of trustees.
• The novel contributed to Lewis’s being awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1930, making him the first American to receive this honor.
• The novel's success led to a stage adaptation in 1921 and a silent film version in 1923, marking Warner Bros. studio's first-ever movie production.
• The novel inspired several parodies, including Ptomaine Street by Carolyn Wells.
• Lewis's hometown high school sports teams adopted the nickname “Main Streeters” in tribute to the novel's success.
• The novel's popularity led to “Main Street” becoming a common term for small-town America.
• In 1998, Main Street was ranked #68 on the Modern Library's list of 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century.

About the author

Sinclair Lewis (1885-1951) was one of the most prominent and influential American novelists of the early 20th century. Born and raised in the small town of Sauk Centre, Minnesota, he graduated from Yale University in 1908 and worked various jobs while honing his craft as a writer. His breakthrough came in 1920 with the publication of Main Street, which became a massive commercial success and established Lewis as a keen satirist of small-town American life.

Throughout the 1920s, Lewis produced a string of acclaimed novels, including Babbitt, Arrowsmith, Elmer Gantry, and Dodsworth. These works sharply critiqued aspects of American society such as conformity, materialism, and religious hypocrisy. Lewis's vigorous prose style and skill at creating memorable characters earned him widespread praise. In 1930, he became the first American to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature.

Lewis continued to write prolifically. His 1935 novel It Can't Happen Here, which imagined a fascist takeover of the United States, has seen renewed interest in recent years for its perceived political relevance. Plagued by alcoholism in his later years, Lewis died in Rome at the age of 65, leaving an indelible mark on American literature.