The Octopus: A Story of California

by Frank Norris

Overview

The Octopus: A Story of California is a 1901 novel by Frank Norris and was meant to be the first part of an uncompleted trilogy, The Epic of the Wheat. It describes the wheat industry in California, and the conflicts between wheat growers and a railway company. Norris was inspired to write the novel by the Central Pacific Railroad and the Mussel Slough Tragedy. In the novel he depicts the tensions between the railroad, the ranchers and the ranchers' League. The book emphasized the control of "forces"-such as the power of railroad monopolies-over individuals. Some editions of the work give the subtitle as alternatively, A California Story.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781975745400
Publisher:	CreateSpace Publishing
Publication date:	08/23/2017
Pages:	314
Product dimensions:	5.98(w) x 9.02(h) x 0.66(d)

About the Author

Frank Norris (1870–1902) was an American journalist and novelist. Among his novels are McTeague, The Octopus: A Story of California, and The Pit. His fiction is classified under naturalism and has been compared to the works of Émile Zola, Stephen Crane, and Edith Wharton.

Kevin Starr (1940 - 2017) was an American historian and California's State Librarian, best know for his multi-volume series on the history of California. His writing won a Guggenheim Fellowship, and gold and silver medals from the Commonwealth Club of California. His books include Americans and the California Dream, 1850–1915; California: A History; and Golden Gate: The Life and Times of America’s Greatest Bridge.