Frank norris biography mcteague characters

1899 novel by Frank Norris

For other uses, see McTeague (disambiguation).

McTeague: A Story of San Francisco, otherwise known as simply McTeague, is a novel by Frank Norris, first published in 1899.

It tells the story of a couple's courtship and marriage, and their subsequent descent into poverty and violence as the result of jealousy and greed. The book was the basis for the films McTeague (1916) and Erich von Stroheim's Greed (1924).

It was also adapted as an opera by William Bolcom in 1992.

Frank norris biography mcteague characters

Plot summary

McTeague is a dentist of limited intellect from a poor miner's family who has opened a dentist shop on Polk Street in San Francisco (his first name is never revealed; other characters in the novel call him simply "Mac.").

His best friend, Marcus Schouler, brings his cousin, Trina Sieppe, whom he's courting, to McTeague's parlor for dental work. McTeague becomes infatuated with Trina while working on her teeth, and Marcus graciously steps aside.

McTea