All Formats & Editions

This classic literary critique of turn-of-the-century capitalism in the United States reveals Norris's powerful story of an obsessed trader intent on cornering the wheat market and the consequences of his unchecked greed.

The Pit deals with the rough and tumble world of the commodity trading pits at the Chicago Board of Trade Building. This was originally written as the second volume in a planned trilogy; the first book The Octopus : A Story of California is also published in a matching volume... Read Full Overview

The Pit: A Story of Chicago by Frank Norris is a classic American novel, originally published in 1903. The follow-up novel to Norris's epic The Octopus , which focused on the tensions between ranchers, railroads, and labor in boomtime California, The Pit follows the story of... Read Full Overview

At eight o'clock in the inner vestibule of the Auditorium Theatre by the window of the box office, Laura Dearborn, her younger sister Page, and their aunt-Aunt Wess'-were still waiting for the rest of the theatre-party to appear. A great, slow-moving press of men and women in... Read Full Overview

At eight o'clock in the inner vestibule of the Auditorium Theatre by the window of the box office, Laura Dearborn, her younger sister Page, and their aunt-Aunt Wess'-were still waiting for the rest of the theatre-party to appear. A great, slow-moving press of men and women in... Read Full Overview

Norris described The Pit as a fictitious narrative of a "deal" in the Chicago wheat pit, which is the nickname of the trading floor of the Chicago Board of Trade, where commodities are traded like stocks and bonds. One man tries to corner the market on wheat to make a fortune... Read Full Overview

The Trilogy of The Epic of the Wheat includes the following novels: THE OCTOPUS, a Story of California. THE PIT, a Story of Chicago. THE WOLF, a Story of Europe. These novels, while forming a series, will be in no way connected with each other save only in their relation to (1)... Read Full Overview

The Pit: A Story of Chicago is Frank Norris's powerful novel of speculation, ambition, and financial ruin set in the turbulent world of the Chicago grain markets. First published in 1903, the book forms the second volume of Norris's planned trilogy The Epic... Read Full Overview

The Pit- A Story of Chicago by Frank Norris

The Pit: A Story of Chicago is a 1903 novel by Frank Norris. Set in the wheat speculation trading pits at the Chicago Board of Trade Building, it was the second book in what was to be the trilogy The Epic of the Wheat. The first book, The Octopus, was published in 1901. Norris... Read Full Overview

The Pit: A Story of Chicago
Frank Norris (March 5, 1870 - October 25, 1902)

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original... Read Full Overview

The Pit: a Story of Chicago is a story about corruption, greed, and redemption. Curtis Jadwin a rich and powerful capitalist decides to corner the market on wheat ignoring the misery and pain that this attempt will bring on those who need the crop to survive. Ultimately he has... Read Full Overview

The story of Frank Norris's The Pit could be taken from today's headlines: a businessman begins speculating in the commodities market on a small scale until, overcome by greed, addicted to the art of the deal, and harboring an ever-increasing appetite for power, he gambles recklessly... Read Full Overview