--- title: "Elmer Gantry by Sinclair Lewis — Classic Ebook | Publica Now" description: "Read a free sample of Elmer Gantry by Sinclair Lewis at Publica Now — a public-domain classic ebook, readable online." canonical: "https://publica.now/creators/vito/works/elmer-gantry" --- Literary # Elmer Gantry by Sinclair Lewis [ V Vito ](https://publica.now/creators/vito) Follow $1.99 [ Sign in to buy ](https://publica.now/access?redirect=%2Fcheckout%2Felmer-gantry) Share Link copied Format epub Published May 03, 2026 Rating No reviews yet ![Elmer Gantry](https://fls-a13cb2d7-1b3e-4883-a0bd-297afd110a11.367be3a2035528943240074d0096e0cd.r2.cloudflarestorage.com/works/01kqqxw9j8h432eddkkgsxwkvh/cover.png?X-Amz-Content-Sha256=UNSIGNED-PAYLOAD&X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Credential=d29ce3bb571c165c97a702f29f7aee93%2F20260905%2Fauto%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Date=20260905T232925Z&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&X-Amz-Expires=3600&X-Amz-Signature=96a5035322c41c4bbfe4d585cb13367ee2b056c4005ca9aa5deb604fa0d4e312) ## About this work Elmer Gantry by Sinclair Lewis — a public-domain edition published by publica.now. Sample ## Take a look inside ELMER GANTRY BY SINCLAIR LEWIS NEW YORK HARCOURT, BRACE AND COMPANY COPYRIGHT, 1927, BY HARCOURT, BRACE AND COMPANY, INC. Fourteenth printing, September, 1928 PRINTED IN THE U. S. A. BY QUINN & BODEN COMPANY, INC, RAHWAY, N. J. To H. L. MENCKEN with profound admiration No character in this book is the portrait of any actual person. S. L. E L M E R G A N T R Y CHAPTER I I elmer gantry was drunk. He was eloquently drunk, lovingly and pugnaciously drunk. He leaned against the bar of the Old Home Sample Room, the most gilded and urbane saloon in Cato, Missouri, and requested the bartender to join him in “The Good Old Summer Time,” the waltz of the day. Blowing on a glass, polishing it and glancing at Elmer through its flashing rotundity, the bartender remarked that he wasn’t much of a hand at this here singing business. But he smiled. No bartender could have done other than smile on Elmer, so inspired and full of gallantry and hell-raising was he, and so dominating was his beefy grin. “All right, old socks,” agreed Elmer. “Me and my roommate’ll show you some singing as is singing! Meet roommate. Jim Lefferts. Bes’ roommate in world. Wouldn’t live with him if wasn’t! Bes’ quarterback in Milwest. Meet roommate.” The bartender again met Mr. Lefferts, with protestations of distinguished pleasure. Elmer and Jim Lefferts retired to a table to nourish the long, rich, chocolate strains suitable to drunken melody. Actually, they sang very well. Jim had a resolute tenor, and as to Elmer Gantry, even more than his bulk, his thick black hair, his venturesome black eyes, you remembered that arousing barytone. He was born to be a senator. He never said anything important, and he always said it sonorously.… [ Sign in to buy ](https://publica.now/access?redirect=%2Fcheckout%2Felmer-gantry) The sample continues in the full work. 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