The Pit (Barnes & Noble Library of Essential Reading) Book

This is the second book of a projected trilogy by Frank Norris. From the front of the book:

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) the production, (2) the distribution, (3) the consumption of American wheat. When complete, they will form the story of a crop of wheat from the time of its sowing as seed in California to the time of its consumption as bread in a village of Western Europe.

The first novel, "The Octopus," deals with the war between the wheat grower and the Railroad Trust; the second, "The Pit," is the fictitious narrative of a "deal" in the Chicago wheat pit; while the third, "The Wolf," will probably have for its pivotal episode the relieving of a famine in an Old World community.

Unfortunately, Norris died before he could write the third book of the trilogy. I remember attempting to read The Octopus when I was in high school for an American lit class but I know I didn't get very far into it. However, I did read Norris' McTeague several years ago and thought it was one of the best novels of the time period around the turn of the 20th century. It told the story of a couple's courtship and marriage, and their subsequent descent into poverty, violence and finally murder as the result of jealousy and greed.

The Pit has some similar themes as McTeague including how greed can lead to self destruction and how it can ruin relationships. It was published in 1903 and takes place in Chicago. It centers on the life of Laura Dearborn and her eventual marriage to Curtis Jadwin who at first is a minor wheat speculator in the trading pits at the Chicago Board of Trade. But Jadwin becomes obsessed with speculating on the price of wheat and eventually makes millions. Laura is torn between three different suitors but marries Jadwin primarily for the security. The novel delves into her motivations which don't seem to really include love. The parts of the novel involving Laura and her love life were definitely dated and read like an early romance novel. However, as the story developed, and focused on the speculation of buying and selling wheat, it became quite engrossing. Toward the end of the novel there was a sequence in "The Pit" that was reminiscent of a prize boxing match with the Bears fighting the Bulls as the price of wheat rose and fell. Of course, the novel did not end happily for the Jadwins.

The novel was great in describing the Chicago of the time and the daily routine of the idle rich including attending the opera, reading the current novels, investing in art, etc. It also taught a lot about how the commodities market work and how greed and gambling in the market can affect the fortunes of both farmers and small investors while also making the price of the commodity out of reach for the poor. Overall I would recommend this one and now I need the read The Octopus.