Early Life
A young Upton Sinclair.
Upton Beall Sinclair, Jr. was born in Baltimore on September 20, 1878, the only child of Upton and Priscilla Sinclair. His father was a liquor salesman who struggled with alcoholism and poverty. Upton taught himself to read when he was only five years old, reading every book his mother had in the house. When he was ten, his family moved to New York City, and at fourteen, Sinclair attended New York City College, writing short stories and jokes for magazines to pay for tuition. After graduating in 1897, he studied law at Columbia University but began to lean more toward literature and socialism. In 1900, Sinclair married Meta Fuller and the unhappy marriage led him to write Springtime and Harvest. He wrote four other books that were not commercially successful before gained fame by writing The Jungle.
The Jungle
The Jungle cover.
After researching meatpacking factories in Chicago undercover for seven weeks, Sinclair wrote The Jungle as a political exposé. He tried to publish the book at various publishers but was rejected multiple times, so he decided to publish the book himself.
"I advise without hesitation and unreservedly against the publication of this book which is gloom and horror unrelieved. One feels that what is at the bottom of his fierceness is not nearly so much desire to help the poor as hatred of the rich." -Editor at MacMillan
In the few years following 1906, The Jungle became a worldwide best-seller. Jack London called it, "the Uncle Tom's Cabin of wage slavery." President Theodore Roosevelt read the book and immediately ordered an investigation of the meatpacking industry, ultimately passing the Pure Food and Drugs Act. The book brought about more sanitary factory conditions and food inspections.
"I aimed at the public’s heart and by accident hit its stomach." -Upton Sinclair
"I advise without hesitation and unreservedly against the publication of this book which is gloom and horror unrelieved. One feels that what is at the bottom of his fierceness is not nearly so much desire to help the poor as hatred of the rich." -Editor at MacMillan
In the few years following 1906, The Jungle became a worldwide best-seller. Jack London called it, "the Uncle Tom's Cabin of wage slavery." President Theodore Roosevelt read the book and immediately ordered an investigation of the meatpacking industry, ultimately passing the Pure Food and Drugs Act. The book brought about more sanitary factory conditions and food inspections.
"I aimed at the public’s heart and by accident hit its stomach." -Upton Sinclair
Later Years
Older Upton Sinclair writing.
Sinclair continued to write novels, especially "muckraking" novels, and became more involved in politics. He was the Socialist candidate for governor of California in 1926 but did not win. He ran again as a Democrat, but after losing another time, he did not run for office. Sinclair married Mary Craig Kimbrough after he and Fuller divorced. Together, they collaborated on the novels Sylvia and Sylvia's Marriage. Mary died in 1961, and six months later, Sinclair remarried. Upton Sinclair died on December 18, 1968 at the age of 90. Throughout his life, Sinclair published over 90 books.