Barnes & Noble Digital Library

McTeague is a riveting tale of murder and greed set in the squalid, urban world of turn-of-the-century San Francisco. More significantly, the novel is the premiere document of American literary naturalism and provides a vital glimpse into the turbulent American society of the period. Through his focus on the transformation of the slow-witted dentist McTeague into an animalistic, hunted murderer, Frank Norris creates a story in which desperate characters on the fringe of society are corrupted and destroyed by their uncontrollable desires.