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In the words of literary historian Larzer Ziff, The only figure of literary repute who ever rated The Genius as first among the novels of Theodore Dreiser was Theodore Dreiser. This poignant work, Dreisers fifth published novel, is his most autobiographical and remains the one he cherished the most. Crafted over four years, it reflects his struggle for recognition amidst controversy. Despite its rich exploration of sexual urges and complicated relationships, Dreiser felt the book never received the acclaim it deserved due to his original publishers reluctance to support it against criticism. At over 700 pages, it stands as his longest novel after An American Tragedy. The protagonist, Eugene…
Based on 6 episodes we listened to · September 2026
A direct LibriVox reading that lets Dreiser's competing perspectives and relentless moral arguments gather force chapter by chapter.
Genius gives Theodore Dreiser's novel the audiobook treatment, presenting successive chapters as a public-domain LibriVox reading. The stretch from Book 3, Chapter 9 through Chapter 14 stays inside the conflict among Eugene, Angela and Suzanne, where an affair, a marriage and a…
A coming child enters the argument; if you enjoy spectacularly bad priorities, Eugene is ready for you.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A domestic quarrel narrows into pressure, fear, and stubborn refusal.
The chapter puts Mrs. Dale under steady strain as she tries to break through Suzanne's resistance. What matters here is not spectacle but pressure: ordinary talk turns into a private siege, and the tension comes from fear, pride, and affection pushing against one another. Mrs.
A sharp study of desire, self-deception, and the omens Eugene cannot stop reading into.
Eugene's latest fixation on Frida makes desire look less like romance than a habit of chasing one face after another for happiness that never lasts.
Eugene's longing, fear, and self-mythmaking collide in a chapter that gives Suzanne's steadiness the last word.
Book 3, Chapter 11 stays close to Eugene's head after Angela enters the room. He keeps weighing desire against self-image, pulled between the fear of losing Suzanne and the belief that powers beyond ordinary life have set his life and art apart.
Dreiser makes Eugene's new love feel bright, risky, and uneasy.
Where Eugene's affair with Suzanne lands is less in romance than in strain. The chapter treats his rise, fame, fortune, and the apartment on the drive, as something that has not made him braver.
A letter, a mother, and a romance tightening under pressure.
Suzanne and Eugene return to New York with the private strain already showing. Her nerves about Angela's letter and her mother's response sit beside his bravado slipping into doubt, and the scene keeps that tension in view without losing the human scale of it.
A quiet house gives way to hard labor and the small humiliations that come with it.
Book 2, Chapter 20 begins in Mrs. Hibberdell's house, where the rooms are quiet, the books are in place, and the piano sits untouched. Eugene is received with little ceremony and settled in at once. The talk stays on art, books, and the terms of a comfortable life. Mrs.
A clandestine affair is pushed into the open, and the emotional cost lands hard.
Secret meetings give this section its charge: Eugene keeps finding ways to see Suzanne, and each encounter raises both the danger and the strain on his sense of duty.
A tense domestic standoff where soft words carry more force than a shout.
One young woman s resolve collides with a mother s alarm and a doctor s careful effort to buy time, and the piece keeps that pressure front and center. What gives it weight is how each voice feels earned: Eugene s private logic, Suzanne s stubborn certainty, and Mrs.
Two classical-education teachers slow-read novels like Jane Eyre, chapter by chapter.
Book talk with room to wander.
In this chapter from Theodore Dreiser's 'The Genius,' struggling painter Eugene Whitla faces financial ruin while his devoted wife Angela sacrifices to support him.
Eugene accepts a job offer from the United Magazine Corporation and discusses the layout of their new building's editorial and business departments with Colfax.
Winfield proposes a lucrative real estate investment opportunity to Eugene, highlighting the rapid appreciation of land near New York and its potential for future development.
This segment introduces Kenyon C.
Colfax attempts to persuade Eugene to leave the Calvin Company by highlighting the superior scale and potential of his own publishing organization, which includes seven successful publications and a leading book business, while criticizing past mismanagement and expressing a need for a capable leader to oversee editorial and artistic operations.
This chapter explores Eugene's rise to power and luxury, Angela's attempts to control his conduct as his reputation grows, and the attention he attracts from influential figures.
Eugene struggles with the harsh, unjust environment of his workplace, where his artistic nature clashes with the commercial demands and hostility from colleagues, leading to his growing disillusionment.
Eugene works on creative advertising designs for sugar products, keeping his efforts secret from Angela while focusing on artistic elements to capture public interest.
This segment explores Eugene's internal moral conflict as he justifies his secret affections for other women like Carlotta, while reflecting on his relationship with Angela and the nature of repentance.
Angela discovers a torn love note from Eugene, leading her to suspect his infidelity and experience intense emotional turmoil.
Eugene attempts to meet with a railroad president to request a manual labor job for his health, but is redirected to a secretary.
This segment describes Eugene's rising influence and success at the United Magazines Corporation, highlighting tensions with White over power and recognition in the company.
Eugene waits an hour to meet Mr.
Eugene reflects on his growing fondness for Susanne Dale while navigating social dynamics at a dance hosted by Mrs.
This segment introduces Mrs.
This segment introduces the Summerfield Advertising Agency as an extension of its founder Daniel C.
Eugene struggles with feeling undervalued in his new art department job but impresses his superior with his creative work on a project about the Black Death.
This segment discusses Florence White's effective management of the United Magazine Corporation's commercial and financial aspects, highlighting his business acumen and conflicts with labor unions.
This segment explores Suzanne's growing awareness of Mr.
This segment depicts Eugene and Angela's financial struggles, Angela's sacrifices to manage their household, and the slow end of Eugene's affair with Carlotta.
Angela resolves to adopt a frugal lifestyle and save money despite Eugene's financial struggles as an artist.
Mrs.
Angela and Eugene return to New York with optimism, financial security from investments, and plans for Eugene's career advancement and potential return to art.
Angela secretly follows Eugene in New York, while he reflects on past acquaintances and avoids explaining his situation.
This segment discusses a pivotal offer to the protagonist in a changing publishing industry, highlighting the shift from founder control to financial manipulation by figures like Hiram C.
Eugene transitions from a challenging job under Summerfield's harsh management to a new position, highlighting his growth in resilience and self-reliance.
This segment explores Eugene's melancholy and the precarious nature of his relationship with Carlotta, as they navigate deception and the threat of discovery by Angela and Mrs.
This segment describes the passionate and strategic romantic relationship between Carlotta Wilson and Eugene, focusing on her deliberate pursuit and their mutual affection.
This segment explores the evolving dynamics between Eugene and Angela as she attempts to rebuild their relationship despite lingering distrust and past infidelity.
This segment introduces Carlotta Wilson, a sophisticated woman married to a professional gambler, detailing her background and her husband's deceptive gambling activities.
Eugene, facing financial hardship, contemplates selling his remaining paintings to various art dealers but struggles with fear and the challenge of finding buyers in a competitive market.
Eugene decides to return to New York to sell his unsold paintings from Paris through art dealers, hoping to recover from financial struggles.
Secret meetings start.
Suzanne comes back rattled.
In this chapter from Theodore Dreiser's 'The Genius,' Suzanne Dale's family discovers her relationship with Eugene and schemes to stop it.
Eugene, a married man, becomes obsessed with Suzanne, a younger woman, and they begin a secret affair.
Eugene reflects on the futility of success and the superficial nature of friendships as he grapples with aging and the meaning of life.
This chapter follows Eugene, an artist suffering from a nervous breakdown, as he returns to his hometown Alexandria with his wife Angela.
This chapter from Theodore Dreiser's 'The Genius' follows the artist Eugene as he grapples with loneliness and desire while staying in Alexandria with his wife Angela.
Eugene, a struggling artist working in a lumber yard, gains philosophical insights about workplace hierarchy while concealing his fear that his painting talent may never return.
This chapter from Theodore Dreiser's novel 'The Genius' follows the married artist Eugene as he pursues a clandestine romance with Freda, a young woman living near his family's lakeside boathouse.
This chapter from Theodore Dreiser's 'The Genius' follows Eugene, a sensitive artist in poor health, as he finds refuge in a peaceful boarding house but is then thrust into the brutal world of manual labor at a factory.
This chapter from Theodore Dreiser's 'The Genius' follows Eugene Witla, a successful publisher, as he becomes increasingly infatuated with Suzanne Dale, the beautiful young daughter of his social acquaintance.
A chapter from Theodore Dreiser's novel 'The Genius' depicting a tense family crisis.
Genius, adapting Theodore Dreiser’s Book 2, Chapter 11, Part 2, centers on Angela confronting Eugene over letters from Ruby Kenny and Christina Channing.
The Genius, Book 3, Chapter 10, centers on Eugene's response to Angela's announcement that she is expecting a child while he is pursuing Suzanne Dale.
Storm becomes siege.
The night passes.
Eugene mistakes desire for destiny.
Angela's old hold is gone.
Book 3, Chapter 28 of Theodore Dreiser's The Genius opens with the delivery complications of Angela Witla, which the narrator ties to eclampsia, a condition he says struck about one in 500 births.
Eugene reads a library obstetrics text describing craniotomy and the surgeon as "judge and executioner" choosing between mother and child.
In Genius, Book 3, Chapter 25, Eugene reads Christian Science after Angela's departure and weighs its claims about sickness, matter, marriage, and spiritual life.
Theodore Dreiser’s Genius, Book 3 Chapter 24, follows Eugene after the loss of status and the collapse of his relationship with Suzanne.