An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser. Short summary

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Clyde Griffiths has always dreamed of becoming rich. When a young rich girl falls in love with him, he kills his pregnant mistress. Clyde is executed.

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Young Clyde Griffiths is the son of street preachers. But he dreams of escaping poverty. He finds himself in a company in which he embraces a life of debauchery. One day, while traveling with friends, the driver of the car where Clyde is driving is hit to death by a child. Griffiths is forced to flee and hide from the police.

He gets a job with his uncle, the owner of a factory. Here Griffiths meets Roberta, who becomes his mistress.

Later Clyde meets the rich Sondra Finchley. The girl falls in love with Griffiths and decides to marry him.

But Roberta informs Clyde that she is pregnant and, if he refuses to marry her, she promises to make everything public. So Clyde takes her for a walk on the lake and kills her. He makes it look like an accident.

But the young man is arrested and accused of murder. Sondra disowns him. Clyde is executed in the electric chair.