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Sinclair Lewis (1885 � 1951) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and playwright. In 1930, he became the first author from the United States to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature, which was awarded "for his vigorous and graphic art of description and his ability to create, with wit and humor, new types of characters." His 1925 novel, Arrowsmith, also received the Pulitzer Prize (which Lewis declined). Lewis was influenced by other contemporary American authors including H.G. Wells, Edith Wharton, and Theodore Dreiser, author of Sister Carrie and An American Tragedy. Lewis considered Dreiser "as a master without whom his own career would probably not have been possible." Lewis was born February 7, 1885, in the village of Sauk Centre, Minnesota which is the basis for the fictionalized town of Gopher Prairie, the setting for Main Street.

Main Street satirizes small town life and is probably Lewis's most famous novel. It was at the top of the best-seller lists when it was published in 1920 and was the best-selling novel for the period 1900-1925. The protagonist of the novel is Carol Kennicott, a librarian living in Saint Paul who marries Will Kennicott, a doctor from Gopher Prairie. Carol agrees to live in the small town with Will with the idea that she will be able to change the town for the better. She joins clubs, holds parties, and even organizes a somewhat disastrous play. But she is ultimately trapped in the small town and confronted with suspicion and hostility especially by the women there. She does find some comfort with other outsiders including a young effeminate man who works as a tailor who seems to fall for Carol. However, these "friends" all fail to meet up to Carol's expectations.

The novel takes place during the 1910s including the years prior to and during WWI. It criticizes the issues of the times including isolationism, socialism, religion, business and welfare as they are seen through the small-town mentality of the residents of Gopher Prairie. This was a rather long novel at over 500 pages but it is worth reading to get a realistic view of the cultural divide among Americans that is still very prevalent today.