14 h 47 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 14 h 47 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What does kindness cost in a world that rewards money and punishes weakness?
In Theodore Dreiser's Jennie Gerhardt, a poor daughter of German immigrants works to keep her family afloat in Ohio. Her father, William, holds tightly to faith and respectability. When Senator George Sylvanus Brander notices Jennie at the hotel where she cleans, his kindness offers hope, but also exposes her to judgment.
Later, Jennie meets Lester Kane, the son of a wealthy carriage maker. She longs for love and security; he is drawn to her warmth and simplicity. Yet his family's money and expectations press against their bond. Across Columbus, Cleveland and Chicago, Dreiser follows the private choices that poverty and social rank make painfully difficult.
What you’ll discover
- A generous heart under pressure Meet a woman whose devotion to others leaves her own needs dangerously exposed.
- Love across a class divide Follow Jennie and Lester as affection meets the demands of wealth and family.
- The weight of respectability See how a father's fear of shame strains an already struggling household.
- Ordinary life in close detail Enter rooms where clothes, meals and money reveal the distance between comfort and need.
- Sympathy without easy answers Explore how poverty, desire and chance shape choices that others are quick to judge.
Who will love it
For readers who love humane social novels, stories of working families, and fiction that explores how money shapes private choices. Jennie's devotion brings love, sacrifice, class and moral judgment into focus.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A poor family holds together in Ohio
- Kindness brings her to Senator Brander
- Shame and a father's judgment
- A new life in Cleveland and Lester Kane
- Family need draws Jennie toward Lester
- Chicago and a life lived quietly
- Money and family pull at Lester
- What the story says about class and sacrifice
- How Dreiser tells the story
Who’s who
- Jennie GerhardtA poor, warm-hearted daughter of German immigrants who works and gives all she has to help her family, and who longs for love and security.
- William GerhardtJennie's father, a glassblower and strict Lutheran, proud and fearful of shame, who struggles to support his family and judges harshly.
- Mrs. GerhardtJennie's gentle mother, anxious and loving, who tries to keep the family fed and together and trusts her eldest daughter above all.
- Senator George Sylvanus BranderA kind, experienced senator who helps the Gerhardts and grows fond of Jennie, offering a hope of a better life.
- Lester KaneThe easygoing, strong-willed son of a rich carriage maker, drawn to Jennie's simplicity while tied to his family's money and expectations.
- VestaJennie's bright little daughter, loved without reserve and the center of her mother's hopes and fears.
- Archibald KaneLester's proud and forceful father, a Cincinnati manufacturer who expects his sons to uphold the family name and business.
- Bass GerhardtJennie's restless eldest brother, whose trouble with the law leads Jennie to ask the senator for help.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet, computer or Kindle, with the type as large as you like.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 14 h 47 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 14 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
eBooks and audiobooks open right away. Download EPUB or PDF, or send the book to your Kindle. Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout.
How it works
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read, listen and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook, audiobook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, 5 accounts for the price of one.
- We remind you first. Free for 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment. Then 0,14 USD a day in your first year on the yearly plan and 0,27 USD a day after, or 0,66 USD a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
Bought on its own? Every eBook, audiobook and printed book you buy without the plan carries our 30-day money-back guarantee.
25 languages, side by side
Read and hear Jennie Gerhardt in 25 languages and switch at any time. Or read two side by side, paragraph by paragraph: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
Jennie Gerhardt
by Theodore Dreiser · 1911
Jennie gives all she has to her family, while love and society's judgment put her hopes for security at stake.
Medium level10–20 hours to read25 languages
Excellent
- Read or listen
- 25 languages, side by side
- Print and large print at cost
- 5 accounts for the price of one
Free for 3 months · starts right away, on any device
Read free3 months free · cancel anytimeFree for 3 months, then 0,14 USD a dayCancel anytimeHow it works
In short
Jennie Gerhardt is a novel by Theodore Dreiser, published in 1911. It was his second book, written after the troubled reception of Sister Carrie, and it again follows an ordinary American woman through a world that rewards money and punishes weakness.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A poor family holds together in Ohio
The story opens with the Gerhardts, a family of German origin living in Columbus, Ohio. The father, William Gerhardt, is a glassblower who has lost his work after a factory fire and then an injury. He is devout, honest and rigid, and he carries a deep fear of sin and of what neighbors might say. His wife, a gentle and worried woman, tries to keep the house running on almost nothing.
There are six children, and Jennie is the oldest daughter. She is not clever at school in the way her brothers might be, but she has a warm, steady nature and a willingness to work. She takes in washing, scrubs floors and cleans at a hotel, and she brings home every coin she earns. The family leans on her, and she does not resent it.
Free for 3 months · Cancel anytime
Free gifts
580 USD in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, 5 accounts for the price of one. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
170 USDFREE - Every audiobookIn 25 languages, any device
120 USDFREE - 15-minute summariesRead or listen, in 25 languages
60 USDFREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
60 USDFREE - 5 accounts for the price of oneA shelf for everyone at home
170 USDFREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
Questions about Jennie Gerhardt
Can I read it free?
Yes. The first key idea of the 15-minute summary is free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 3 months, with the eBook to keep, plus 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy the printed book?
Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.
How many accounts do I get?
Five, for the price of one: you and 4 more people, each with their own login, shelf and their own place in every book.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. Nothing is charged in your first 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment.
What is Jennie Gerhardt about?
It follows Jennie, a poor and generous daughter of German immigrants, through her love affairs with two wealthy men and her devotion to her family. It shows how class, money and moral judgment shape a woman's life.
When was Jennie Gerhardt written and is it a true story?
Dreiser published it in 1911. It is fiction, though Dreiser drew on his own poor immigrant family background and on the lives of women he knew, especially his sisters, for its setting and feeling.
Who is Lester Kane in Jennie Gerhardt?
Lester is the son of a rich Cincinnati carriage maker. He meets Jennie in Cleveland and forms a lasting bond with her, but his family's money and expectations press hard on his choices.
The author
Theodore Dreiser
1871–1945 · American novelist and journalist
Theodore Dreiser was an American novelist and journalist born in Terre Haute, Indiana, in 1871. He lived in New York and later in Los Angeles, where he died in 1945. His novels include Sister Carrie (1900), Jennie Gerhardt (1911), The Financier (1912), and An American Tragedy (1925).
More by Theodore Dreiser
All 3 booksMore like this
Our mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages, new audiobooks and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
