Theodore Dreiser's first collection of short fiction, published in 1918. Dreiser was known primarily as a novelist (Sister Carrie, An American Tragedy, and others), but he was adept at the short story genre as well, having been a magazine editor at different times in his career. These stories illustrate Dreiser's bleak naturalistic philosophy of life. They often feature characters who have been marginalized by society and feel they are at the mercy of an indifferent universe that offers them few choices for a satisfying life. - Summary by James Hutchisson