I am working on a dissertation at the University at Buffalo (my advisor
is Vic Doyno, whose name I've seen mentioned here).  It is partially
Twain oriented, partially not, but given the knowledge of many Twain
scholars, I'm sure some of you could help me.  So, with apologies for
the partial non-Twain content, here goes:

I'm interested in the business novel in American literature, both 19th
and 20th century.  By this I mean novels that deal primarily with
capitalism itself (eg. Sinclair's THE JUNGLE, London's THE IRON HEEL)
or with businessmen (eg. Howells SILAS LAPHAM).  I'm probably aware of
most of the major novels in this category, although if anyone believes
they know of some lesser known titles, please pass these on.

It seems to me that Twain & Warner's THE GILDED AGE is one of the earlier
novels dealing (satirically) with economics (and obviously politics and many
other things as well).  Does anyone know of any business novels before
1873?

Perhaps most importantly, I'm in search of novels with a positive view
toward capitalism.  These seem to be few & far between.  Ayn Rand
certainly fits the bill, as does John Hay's THE BREAD-WINNERS.  But
I haven't found too many others.  I'm sure there are more out there,
and I'd be eternally grateful to anyone who could point me toward them.

Thank you all.  If you would like to respond, please do so directly to
me at:
           [log in to unmask]
since this topic doesn't exactly fit in this forum.

Scott Dalrymple
University at Buffalo