McTeague: A Story of San Francisco

McTeague is a huge, slow, good-natured dentist without a diploma, practising on Polk Street in San Francisco. His friend Marcus Schouler introduces him to his cousin Trina, and McTeague marries her just after she wins five thousand dollars in a lottery. Jealous of the money, Marcus reports McTeague for practising without a licence, and as the couple sinks into poverty, Trina's love of money becomes a miser's obsession and McTeague's gentleness turns to brutality, leading to violence and a final chase into Death Valley.

Frank Norris (1870–1902) published the novel in 1899, and it is one of the major works of American naturalism, showing characters driven by heredity, environment and greed. Erich von Stroheim filmed it in 1924 as Greed, a legendary film that was originally many hours long. Compare Sister Carrie.