Frank Norris 
Octopus 

An unsentimental look at the lives of farmers and businessmen in the late 19th century, ‘The Octopus’ details the expansion of the railroad, its tracks spreading out like tentacles across the US. We follow the farmers as they are slowly crushed by the pressures put on them by this new industry, due to the greed and corruption of cold, corporate businessmen, who are willing to go to unsavoury lengths to ensure they do not lose out on the possible financial rewards. Written without any romanticism, ‘The Octopus’ gives a fascinating insight into the effects of industrialism, and the subsequent avarice that inevitably follows.-