Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser. Short summary

5 seconds

Young Carrie arrives in Chicago. A married man falls in love with her and takes her to Montreal on the sly. The girl becomes a famous actress, the man goes down and commits suicide.

1 minute

Young Carrie comes from the provinces to Chicago. On the way she meets Drouet, a travelling salesman. When she arrives in the city, the girl stays with her sister and struggles to find a low-paying job in a factory.

By chance, she meets Drouet. After a while, Carrie becomes his mistress. The traveling salesman introduces her to his buddy, the bar manager Gerstwood.

He likes Kerry very much. Drouet helps Kerry get a part in an amateur play where her acting talent is shown. Gerstwood falls in love with Kerry. But he is married and his wife would easily bankrupt him in a divorce.

Gerstwood steals money from the bar and slyly takes Kerry to Montreal, then to New York. He gets most of the money back. Thanks to Kerry’s talent, he manages to become famous. Gerstwood, who fails to find work, goes down and commits suicide.