Step into the bustling, conformist world of 1920s America with Sinclair Lewis’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, and read the complete book online for free.
Published in 1922, Babbitt is not just a novel; it is a cultural landmark. Sinclair Lewis’s sharp, witty, and devastatingly accurate portrait of George F. Babbitt—a middle-aged real estate agent in the fictional city of Zenith—became an instant sensation. The novel follows the life of a man who has everything society tells him he should want: a successful career, a modern home, a family, and the respect of his business peers. Yet, beneath the surface of Rotary Club lunches and well-polished automobiles, Babbitt feels a gnawing emptiness.
Driven by a vague yearning for something more authentic, he briefly attempts to rebel against the very conventions that define him. He flirts with liberal politics, dabbles in a bohemian affair, and questions the dogma of “boosters” and “go-getters.” However, Lewis does not offer a simple tale of triumph. Babbitt is a tragicomedy about the price of rebellion and the gravitational pull of social conformity. It explores whether it is possible to escape the cage you have willingly built for yourself.
On this page, you can experience the novel that coined the term “Babbittry” and cemented Sinclair Lewis as a major voice of American literature. We offer the complete 1922 novel for online reading.
Book Info
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Title | Babbitt |
| Author | Sinclair Lewis |
| Year of Publication | 1922 |
| Genre | Satire, Literary Fiction, Social Commentary |
| Language | English |
| Legal Status | Public Domain in the U.S. (Published pre-1928) |
| Format | Online Reading |
Read Babbitt The Novel Online
Join George F. Babbitt on the Zenith Athletic Club’s porch. Begin this defining American novel by exploring the opening pages interactively below.
This preview introduces the booming, optimistic city of Zenith and its most loyal son. However, the full narrative—the secret affair, the friend’s betrayal, the son’s modern rebellion, and Babbitt’s lonely stand against the “Good Citizens’ League”—is available in the complete text for our subscribers.
A subscription unlocks this pillar of American literature and the sharpest satire of the Jazz Age. Discover the man behind the gray fedora.
About the Novel Babbitt
This book is widely regarded as the first major American novel to take the middle-class businessman as its tragic hero, depicting his life not with glorification, but with surgical precision and deep, if disappointed, sympathy.
The Creation of a Stereotype
The novel was so successful in capturing the spirit of the American conformist that the protagonist’s surname entered the English language. The term “Babbitt” or “Babbittry” describes a person, usually middle-class, who is uncritically devoted to conventional business standards, material success, and social respectability, often to the point of hypocrisy. Lewis did not just write a book; he defined an era.
Zenith: The Everycity
Unlike novels set in New York or Paris, Lewis sets his story in the fictional Zenith, a bustling Midwestern city. Zenith is a character in itself—proud of its new skyscrapers, its smoke-filled skies (a sign of prosperity), and its rigid social hierarchy. It is anywhere and everywhere in 1920s America. This universality allowed readers across the country to see their own neighbors, and perhaps themselves, in the mirror Lewis held up.
The Restless Rebel
The core of the novel is George Babbitt’s “mid-life rebellion.” Chafing against his wife, his friends, and his narrow routine, he seeks solace in the company of the sophisticated and liberal Seneca Doane and the sensual Tanis Judique. However, Lewis is careful not to turn Babbitt into a hero. His rebellion is clumsy, self-centered, and ultimately fragile. He is a man who wants the safety of the crowd and the thrill of individuality simultaneously, a contradiction Lewis exposes with brutal honesty.
The Cost of Conformity
The climax of the novel revolves around social pressure. When Babbitt’s friend is tried for murder, and Babbitt dares to show public sympathy for him, the business community turns on him. The “Good Citizens’ League” threatens his livelihood. The final third of the novel is a masterclass in social anxiety; it details the slow, painful suffocation of a man who realizes that freedom costs more than he is willing to pay.
The New Generation
Babbitt’s relationship with his children, particularly his son Ted, highlights the generational shift of the Roaring Twenties. Ted represents the “flaming youth”—interested in cars, movies, and modern romance, indifferent to the business rituals his father holds sacred. The novel’s poignant ending, where Babbitt gives Ted his blessing to abandon college and elope, is a quiet act of love and surrender. It is Babbitt admitting that his dreams for his son are perhaps more honest than the life he lived himself.
Satire, not Cynicism
While Sinclair Lewis was a fierce critic of American society, Babbitt is not a hateful book. Lewis has affection for his protagonist. We laugh at Babbitt’s pompous speeches and his desperation to appear important, but we also feel his loneliness and his fleeting moments of clarity. It is this balance between ridicule and compassion that elevates the novel from mere polemic to great literature.
Why Read the Novel Babbitt Today?
In an age of curated social media identities, corporate blandness, and political polarization, Babbitt feels eerily contemporary. It asks timeless questions: Is this all there is? Are we living our lives or just performing them? It is the perfect read for anyone who has ever felt trapped by their own success or questioned the script society handed them at birth.
FAQ
Is Babbitt based on a real person?
Sinclair Lewis drew inspiration from multiple sources. The character is a composite of several businessmen Lewis observed in his hometown of Sauk Centre, Minnesota, and in cities like Cincinnati and Kansas City. He wanted to create a universal “average American” rather than a portrait of one specific individual.
Did Babbitt win a Pulitzer Prize?
Yes, Babbitt was awarded the 1922 Pulitzer Prize. However, Sinclair Lewis famously refused to accept it. He felt that prizes encouraged writers to cater to popular taste rather than pursue artistic truth. He later did accept the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1930.
Is this book difficult to read due to its age?
Not at all. While it is set 100 years ago, Sinclair Lewis’s prose is fast-paced, journalistic, and highly conversational. The dialogue crackles with the slang and energy of the 1920s, making it an immersive and surprisingly quick read.
How does this compare to Main Street?
Main Street (1920) was Lewis’s breakthrough, focusing on a woman’s struggle against the narrowness of a small town. Babbitt is a thematic sequel of sorts, moving to the city and examining the same struggle for freedom through the lens of a middle-aged man. Together, they form a diptych of American provincial life.
Can I read it on my phone?
Yes. The novel is divided into 34 concise chapters, making it perfect for reading on a phone or tablet during a commute. Lewis’s sharp, short scenes lend themselves well to modern, on-the-go reading habits.