| Born September 20, 1878, Upton Sinclair was the son of an alcoholic liquor salesman whose alcoholism tainted Sinclair's childhood. At age ten, Sinclair moved with his family to New York in1888 and lived in extreme poverty. He spent time with his wealthy grandparents, which he credited as turning him into a socialist. A very intelligent boy, Sinclair entered the New York City College at age 14. He began writing dime novels and hack fiction to support his education. Fred Warren, editor of the Socialist journal, Appeal to Reason, commissioned Sinclair in 1904 to write a book about the horribly abuses taking place in the Chicago meatpacking industry. The Jungle, Sinclair's most famous work, was the product of this commission, yet this groundbreaking piece was rejected by six publishers. A consultant at Macmillan wrote: "I advise without hesitation and unreservedly against the publication of this book which is gloom and horror unrelieved. One feels that what is at the bottom of his fierceness is not nearly so much desire to help the poor as hatred of the rich." Sinclair published the book himself, but it was later picked up by Doubleday. The Jungle was published in 1906 and became an immediate bestseller, being translated into seventeen languages. The book brought Sinclair recognition and wealth, and helped push President Theodore Roosevelt into supporting the creation of the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906. Sinclair continued to publish novels examining groups, regions or industries, such as The Metropolis (1908, King Coal (1917), Oil! (1927), and Boston (1928). Sinclair joined the Socialist party in 1924 and underlying socialist messages found their way into many of his books, including the end of The Jungle. Sinclair ran for governor of California in 1934 on a Socialist platform, but lost by a significant deficit. Upton Sinclair died on November 25, 1968, having published more than 90 books and tangibly affecting American industry. |