"The Pot-boiler" is a play written in 1912 that was believed to be an entirely new idea for the stage as it depicts the writing of a play and how a playwright uses their personal experiences in their work. The play was accepted for production by William Harris, Jr. but was later dropped due to suggestions for modifications that the author did not...More
Upton Beall Sinclair Jr. (September 20, 1878 – November 25, 1968) was an American writer and political activist who wrote nearly 100 books and other works in several genres. Sinclair's work was well known and popular in the first half of the 20th century, and he won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1943.
In 1906, Sinclair acquired particular fame for his classic muck-raking novel The Jungle, which exposed labor and sanitary conditions in the U.S. meatpacking industry, causing a public uproar.
Many of his novels can be read as historical works. Writing during the Progressive Era, Sinclair describes the world of the industrialized United States from both the working man's and the industrialist's points of view. Novels such as King...More
Upton Beall Sinclair Jr. (September 20, 1878 – November 25, 1968) was an American writer and political activist who wrote nearly 100 books and other works in several genres. Sinclair's work was well known and popular in the first half of the 20th century, and he won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1943.
In 1906, Sinclair acquired particular fame for his classic muck-raking novel The Jungle, which exposed labor and sanitary conditions in the U.S. meatpacking industry, causing a public uproar.
Many of his novels can be read as historical works. Writing during the Progressive Era, Sinclair describes the world of the industrialized United States from both the working man's and the industrialist's points of view. Novels such as King Coal (1917), The Coal War (published posthumously), Oil! (1927), and The Flivver King (1937) describe the working conditions of the coal, oil, and auto industries at the time.
Sinclair was an outspoken socialist and ran unsuccessfully for Congress as a nominee from the Socialist Party. He was also the Democratic Party candidate for Governor of California during the Great Depression, running under the banner of the End Poverty in California campaign, but was defeated in the 1934 elections.
Book Summary
"The Pot-boiler" is a play written in 1912 that was believed to be an entirely new idea for the stage as it depicts the writing of a play and how a playwright uses their personal experiences in their work. The play was accepted for production by William Harris, Jr. but was later dropped due to suggestions for modifications that the author did not agree to. A year later, the author discovered that a play with two playwrights, Smith and Brown, and produced by Jones and Robinson, had been produced in the same theatre. The new play was remarkably similar to the original play, with the only differences being the two modifications that Mr. X, a well-known playwright and play-reviser for Jones and Robinson, had suggested to the author. The author took the matter to the Author's League and subsequently pursued legal action. The story serves as a cautionary tale for aspiring playwrights and provides clarity for critics and play-goers who saw both plays and want to know which was written first.
Upton Sinclair
