An 18-year-old girl without money or connections ventures forth from her small town in search of a better life in Theodore Dreiser"s revolutionary first novel. The chronicle of Carrie Meeber"s rise from obscurity to fame — and the effects of her progress on the men who use her and are used in turn — aroused a storm of controversy and debate upon its debut in 1900. The author"s nonjudgmental portrait of a heroine who violates the contemporary moral code outraged some critics and elated others. A century later, Dreiser"s compelling plot and realistic characters continue to fascinate readers.