The Root of Evil

This article is about the book by Thomas Dixon, Jr.. For other uses, see Root of all evil.
The Root of Evil
Title page of the first edition.
AuthorsThomas Dixon, Jr.
LanguageEnglish
PublisherDoubleday, Page & company[1]
Publication date
1911[1]
Pages407[1]

The Root of Evil is a 1911 novel by Thomas Dixon, Jr.

Plot summary

James Stuart, a Southerner, becomes a successful attorney in New York City.[2] Meanwhile, Nan Primrose, his childhood lover marries his college friend, John C. Calhoun Bivens, now a millionnaire lawyer.[2] At the same time, Dr Henry Woodman takes care of the poor in New York, and opposes the takeover of a drug company by Bivens.[2] Stuart eventually marries his daughter.[2] When Woodman steals some jewelry from Bivens, he goes through a trial but is acquitted by the judges thanks to his good deeds.[2]

Main theme

Biographer Anthony Slide viewed the book as an 'attack on capitalism.'[2]

Critical reception

Slide called it 'a novel for today and for all ages.'[2] It has also been called 'a novel with a purpose'[3]

References

  1. ^ a b c HathiTrust: The Root of Evil
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Anthony Slide, American Racist: The Life and Films of Thomas Dixon, Louisville, Kentucky: University Press of Kentucky, 2004, pp. 127-129 [1]
  3. ^ The Bookseller, Newsdealer and Stationer, Excelsior Publishing House, 1911, Volume 34, p. 138


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