Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

The Octopus: A California Story
The Octopus: A California Story
The Octopus: A California Story
Ebook689 pages11 hours

The Octopus: A California Story

Rating: 0 out of 5 stars

()

Read preview

About this ebook

Inspired by The Mussel Slough Tragedy, an 1880 dispute over land titles between California settlers and the Southern Pacific Railroad, Frank Norris' 1901 novel, "The Octopus: A California Story", is the first part in the unfinished trilogy, "The Epic of Wheat". The novel depicts the conflict between wheat farmers in the San Joaquin Valley and the Pacific and Southwestern railroad. When the railroad attempts to take possession of land leased to and improved by the farmers, they are challenged to defend themselves. The second volume of "The Epic of Wheat" trilogy, "The Pit", was published after Norris' death and the third installment, to be titled "The Wolf", was never written.
LanguageEnglish
Release dateJan 1, 2010
ISBN9781596253315
The Octopus: A California Story
Author

Frank Norris

Frank Norris was an American author who wrote primarily in the naturalist genre, focusing on the impact of corruption and turn-of-the-century capitalism on common people. Best known for his novel McTeague and for the first two parts of his unfinished The Epic of the Wheat trilogy—The Octopus: A Story of California and The Pit, Norris wrote prolifically during his lifetime. Following his education at the Académie Julian in Paris, University of California, Berkeley, and at Harvard University, Norris worked as a news correspondent for the San Francisco Chronicle, and covered the Spanish-American War in Cuba for McClure’s Magazine. Norris died suddenly in 1902 of peritonitis, leaving The Wolf: A Story of Empire, the final part of his Wheat trilogy, incomplete.

Read more from Frank Norris

Related to The Octopus

Related ebooks

Classics For You

View More

Related articles

Reviews for The Octopus

Rating: 0 out of 5 stars
0 ratings

0 ratings0 reviews

What did you think?

Tap to rate

Review must be at least 10 words

    Book preview

    The Octopus - Frank Norris

    nNabook_preview_excerpt.htmlŽۖ#Wv-+~pIc #cKE6*bVh>@0`\>#z/X/scض<Ԭ:\]W}O?v߽|}߽{y?ow}?./ͱRUo0f<51t/?Os_pѻo>?ٿsN͸Iu35}O|6Uc<7c3m>K?z}WOٟvO}K_|߼O/|_JzOã.hU/uMuҰTS^jnLS|tW\M6c?Oaw]zn6m7U矩N5/irͽͷs~n~ئZSuՐQ\P6ohصo`6㔪jajb_{usKxxdԴ^l/kL> 쟯mzܼ9 ֳ|x:]\=%[G&}P~>x.f !mkr4Lvu}ڻfۇ;2jnxS5v.~7oF4mci%;ӡa|% CժԜ^+i?,\Kma`!솏q◦͡ru6ǡ1`5Nv6aB1%Mc7\dbbO;z7~8퓝S5._jx_g{EGۈ}LLx&{1 |… \gj\^ﵟ[8V;'o'ڠo.rJu;;͓. [6N}l-ǔ_/ ~!B4v=<6bu˒Vj͇9QW*.knb׾m>nv8~ӈ~ik3T9@-W[iz(U+4bW=ZfZ8BMfnLOxEtIy]Qn{n#N^k#ܙ~]mU]A6&^fe_m=[UdcG8_轛ܖmі&v.5A皻7){¹Fnh;8 \*itpm<΍!h>W!{\Mϩ5ڵdm½bX* ߔ"<Ù~S,vޤ%+*XaY IͪlkQt5Si)n\q=ƞj}DiOue}WwNRq({xS|-o 8Lf 'v$i,Ӿ?ӯ|߹G7)$(qp1Yx<oӘY?)yXs?^&`QںJ2Eil۪<5Ko{;E SyT#g=LwA$דmG_5 s4̺>mU|%w \QZfussML>DܠWieovV7w2383 l9qjp7 pgfA}n.U}fWt MªqmH& UE#)00=mmxymE1Z ?c trAc2WTbדQ+[j`D }3D_[BN(nx:#@m׍e,ݥ[C?fmÁpcLeێxbngC'9q@ƿMFƛwʼnt-]ddz>Ɏ.9t7w6:ᄎX x/WgSs#~~5J a)zQsZzÑ*fd왻 M4]ݩj39lG(\}W;(%)_eeqjTq$]똔nZϥTm.Q-o.+;\PLP zK_=g7'2O=4BB< pLwF|+ufS;hTWu?c ' #UυgyJ?SMX<5 }nQ) _^NZ!{%;+vi_mٺpCV;g|e|c;ֽbO`[tark[{gw=޼y+y+=|MR#o_>=Rm+#Ǘ^x5cXz<[aAݰ3!|$<ԩ %8YUEeK ؾm:2Uy26L ,XyNZVOoƬП|R\Q:`ʮ_o電'yg^Mg]vbU&k'4=0w%#_Z\͔҃q32gϸ]yTITd|8+~ LGk\5#K/X-`h`|K[fVW,˸#@v[N\*S9T~/j Ƌk$DǙR/_TGr ELifKoWa6-b;HgVۼEBO?J,(+T֖Jx_o=WvՆRXQorg_H_T;؋L !R2¹4<\\x߂HT[MrBs_Gc$.ym0}miNҰ=n]K#&T\oS) O_I۔v%Ѫda[9pa)B|[Gkķ-::#jXjXKKb_ ,#1psUe_VrVR[Hj/ĊJ-2!5jӊmuͥskc8J6P0Q?1ޛ AEnIOb:s,3t;A9/9?>y8t~< nLa&73| T*v`Ův^<1w:П BVV~^;E!Ӕx@ OئCko2C|ə|y*c5< /q&}dGipD%FaNLS =#]VKke딫_0S3oy u;`㥧sgSœ2'U3*Zp\mdmHfNY=yh(õ2i/PeUUa \H Byau]J&-v+D5=r5W'/ƒ.C8`?}](T,AD#e5T#_ʮW;=TTѶE4ŧdGh%=գ]^g[@.4s;r  W+h<،']i6殰 1%7$w)M3{䱟W ߍQ~_`8殙\5:<&r(ZʫLMahMsʟ J'׸QK0|W(J(ndd5DAqCiL)R<\HcS;+JI3sldk$7iwlW&0:"zeaga]frк ǽCUs@+O0vf=p[~.MA/k>S*| wxqk֞yp5uJ1 Dg݃s Cu5^,%|e|Z0t9`*8#tE- EU]rwzz]y& $o).JM7b%FY:C/]+CnNc>H=Y*=#),A .8eYƥMO"ORSk3QZ#%E1 $f/Z 2ttwCOȝnnZS_YhybsP{[_O58^$ ꧐*;K|[jS5*\0Y (,"5|y+`,ʆ]q̼,<{ Br1u~X3e^'"dyWԳS?3%{J79q"ߏ=l&a%ҥgA; d@ޘ: o`aPRR."qsjoqQ66MչX|' $9/؛,ܵ349_Ϟ 6A#L@|U 0P)D/;<`|Mvm4}a^͑sjQ_KƳ&X@we+vJw7 \@ybR"ia"3 @rAV">" &hng 3pL^Kr]Z`DP!\+c*>gJ C\֭ 9 u c}dR=S5Fm~j,d/Gzt#nRցkBğ0L᜜!/7G~AC%CA8ɇڤ !՘XgSǀ{IvBKb.%S\YçC 8B/mФ|LutJdtD+KK:bXC<7WJ Ќ{8nfgAV 9EqԼ"u*μ9THjüA=YxC)vV*3zV94q2A||qX 2YP.&|sƫ"ʿnRAj q&d?1U9ؕ/{Ε<0bȨ@5n0e?ѕXO36_7^/Ec*0}KRw}Z"{oR[ ԅWAH_YaONyV9ߔۃ@F7?n}DbHhs*&x% SVTeK FBҗn"ͱy'Q'lW3ڎݢ\Ք=>f x8A2AGb`|B'otPNrv_~㑽/F ] zx >.%/{b?"c]V=낮BZ?ىJj?rڱ7)Ȧ&4@]t6F]Gq%ʬoPV~iE 4G0+O%FmދES ө-FNQC0 `6e B[:HIuu’<{88 (OeW"Թhcf)E붧͘S7Ë:eNDr^MV٧6Yi-ۏ̇"=u+LmMZvQmӡ8w3͋' 9v=#t=YWRM$.6S-|5MrZC>3!.^q2iDNmaG8'> Yef]XORXSOESg:lbgZȉt豋)ZWB"s~mL:Gt Ɖ'CVQA()=1ﮛPGTƳ(Ϟ*t$5h^/Ƙ3dqF50L7Md ɿcwiZ09! ,M*Č>TSXQA8DFV .h#T!`5}̥vbK7d ǶY MEKkHӼY .gshVϿ^>kN5+3^qP-3ƦlŚscyH@9zlg9Vi,e6g #26d y;6yũpk.M Ui?S@;K__g mQDy֪feJ 0w"$Lt ̌,|_e,LraLek#Yc+q'>z7?E_|t\ ْ`8E!q0<)|]S~F I/҉vn 9d\aS/d@KvާWȜOl֠T6x b ?-S$Pf}.9\4Aۋ_AdpuEW}?@G=B#&7U#vL_ qxMe4 ̢5>C?AS"L::k2bU\W D%츦~ي٤e-ѓuDy&AGA CE[vBZu<4:_Ǐ³0DҡE*[힒7 |\."l9Fg ! Z9@rZ {ٔst涠x2',qN,MupaK?do=iTU1K7y^C4ēKDS6&!j_P#|i=xttI.>5;aUדtodr;er@)4ЫCZx@K'sݜ3)KaIiB}̬4GG GGgah^/@鑸- +0)9j!QyOMOϭ[:;QYɞ#(>x>xjA` ΖE٩AB 7@d.)r=[ՋSS--^&RNJR\UQOۂ2#w7+?s֣|MVƻ:n녯ÌGΖspZӰP' u ڬݜ{G+YvSԑǥ!=Kpv\eѥݮnߢW!ho.¼'W6Kfb %L(̂Ӵ@>΢@?.,kgxɫDx+\#qK2\G4 ̠9e1:ə& !%{dR oӥgm\yW,pK2?\@ǂ7NU6 6L[xEh,p"HvXA-d,~9x[?Ev\D2<\&ÑvxíHD8qI. -@?>M| [$QK.pp65Ciyk-q/(.e V ?ҷ{.Jh2)N7 !ʁ(Ҋ (a:wwK*tF0bp{Tחk2% xKY Փ`E< og.-w 1F. ]y8s$pFkT T'Mav;YMs;&i,n޽耘 ̖o0]FÙ"uAysq*Y]ofw8viU h\mY0V}6ߤDbȾa@I&Hu(媩_=/c}F_գHrNA0@tG7(Լg=grx!9JKW"r -_\-Ra- zPlKfKlΑ?;`.P2Tg7)P^P 6Vή?9_WN6\ UL &7+gWC07LEj"Ǚ'*~K;-?U+xN*:.{_NԛDTh.J;ff@?ZTw=U2G|rf jFbVC~yaX v[+(rh|Ǣ5LOQK'&V.yw$/&}Y= {`[ȺYp/7|lovYt\ _w bh柼^գtGSrx Pe?;?n_\^YycIK\:M0Hd; Cdr'hz_ah"= *\m7es yޢq|7hZlݔ{LCri錉8rakI.1#ê4O%$N|H1 K+sXE>GU)))?})DU=;WR8 N]..o`Z>v?81b]jO1ۻ b L\88_w" J0XUAsM|Ŭ{UT#Z3 8U߄6ݼғ!S(qȺ|_F*&暽9MN4ޛfRoV͡8WE~8YyNWo_ٳ녋-# ʶ'\r5$s"`Lj7̤EZF3ȸty2Cm9D` DD$U m.dG[A 1"q<,/LRZ`+#H';mX8Voz)(X+C򶺌^2`9#8򡠧GH\HbatZkW`$~iȽ뵽/J.,y]QR 9eߦ*))͂d`bar$@+ }(b.?WT@Hy:r#,uHћ~T[%|0lP2Nĺ2tLLpذB%* F1+_'< :^RNS'UchYfǶjP`O \=j)MifM"$u!> W-:TQ{t>\Va /8RDz2Q/^:/l^|9zZ̪)NZhͥ-S~靜C % ~Hxk4X 8jXw^{?;da }~<~l H1I4! ӅGR?Y-( 3q=`HPt!bcfU0=9QV^o<̢x+7@tH,E5&]$'>a>o36Dj:֡1խKXs5U`=3 AD5nSl{;ͳ%†rq}m2ɱ.:}mkA2&\:+f[W/M@0 hyc%9jRUzBr8NMBn0g=f/0Q|ClE-[}r Lo]gO>go2Jaa\xE ޼; nlM.2/gM \Y񺫆{-=M !n5,[y7 m?bjRp'5 [2ϛֲ;Nq!QZmQ%VX> v,03?n %z\{c[Te㯗pBw.zH!NSwhTJ_g`侯A}S Cj匍TB9pniW9}\|S%𪿺5NN_}[xRG&YGC0[߂Lf5XPJOd2$xEw0FjXl9 `['Uc,9u]&4WFk)G_dA?~ &Zs4aZ{A+9*14AG'?k šo!LE#*vMijj󌋫q E-I,kZp?)ѻf_E̜W݉VӦTp\H ]FD[2veli:J :cnAem75_jsb;ROD;.%sӺ< t|Gx VL"TOiaٕe(yA-e5U$YI vxIh+HT'CecNy#vdξ`n]| vSc[8x+=Ѷv+sgw9v~-sBJ$8!y ]6>D |ьsM)Tfb)c^8;%n%2Bl<^m~0:eZ_9Ӷ0 2lS=<"VI7VeKRSfW)R)CM,OZ,Li=3ZEX8+E؁ye{-y Ĝf>eЙz#̡ߵ{< 7_QqǬ&G:80({az![]Ѱٰ+c@$JܽBEihZ_~HӒ[s{>;&A=&ËA^*Qgg{h[Q+T9qPO*qu&)Vd^N~_W,7ϊ}g, 6ѱhꀻܠQ*6m:''=|4cH$*OcLJv^,H?.e8!s5hQ 禚n ͣyCcHThZBlay{ ӨJ_JTJEiS5.g$s^`͏IU%!GXai9kf9^zb^'=:_\{qBDѝse¡ڃU`T^Jo*~sa|,֔ȈE gUz&tÙif4U,X& Zdu~Ukqcť@U=yKڶaJ*ג/`}slsh9zT%Ee$.=ʐ;SAv\C|JNb8uȄZgRk.=BU= X51 %_ɺߦgRx #7ra:IZ$sAR& ?s&bB6L1MDR\Fc7J" kie-v..:-jFC!_5QGyϠ %"Qz1bT=IT(z|< H _<orlJDfETh}h#fA#m\8#%AQ#-/aRr `_Pll^:"<̣r7q#ldTMƒ`3_ԃaWjD+#j{zW[t=w9E6qW6ZEYPW/O!0&^,hWzXXR#p K?ՖfM#x]F!T߹(۝-pa(Chzʎf(0سϬӰ@ja#E.uZO{ O57 Z^(eLzTqfC`RٲpEӞ9\ <#y8z#I_3 sW,SL$+>C\:yA(E8uYjgRa`'kqWd(vYڱ$Toy NP腹Q 5~fZQl[>$Ձɓ.Gi13,;D累v\ƾdP6+5" (=A[BAv O cy\ؓϪ<0;Li7xQ ȳ_Nm_E o9=j fے#CUmmh}9δ a|Lcѳh}֬9A:G3`Yx.[m&.1" dUܑ%+'@__6NOz(MV :D胧 #Iϲi_{v"%w=\|Ggڱ瀰D Auu2I"!`Q9YlZfF&Gto!('A2@K3 ,~c䐹.ѢPk ORDͅ /2)avSQ4Se_ӸS2sl6G/Lg͹@;uAx:V'7N 9ɹHR{sکALȹ#?N&Oy `@ݞHǼӠ/mm\gj-yߟcx@:=(e2x%Qe 5rK%wT`6+2> 52,t LdDj|1+w KU7N%haS K>^+hImryD-/ 51<T^jF`tpuύsvLhs_ܥG_ѐ+v=x56"= <ı3fRl%B16|͹ͣ᫝0RⴂDQM$/Vq2A24p5sOCK}`j؁h}OHƠ٤ƀ^N?#C,ӛn7C/{4WjNe11Et~X=8RyzN6݉(ŲMk3 9f1>%$(h)R e8)F 4]<_Q$twnb6aX6jDW W뎲37ze4%&YLf)w%!XKl_ݫ`:j,JQުQ <*tJs_Aӏu"f[%&0LAJGѢ~Vӊ7GU~=LO!s`d^fO p2=0VgxR:ĈN4y<+T-a^)Kêv >QOSa<:$̕m)?1UY%G׀tYQmm񣓷wqR!XFFA تu+2ՐW_Ԃ ,fCH^ Fw_,|jans|Jm((`nhO!GxuԽ3lKK"H6^$yAyk) K)m(SWH+I1! 8Gb.>w*tI.YIo<XBj=[uY3kpJ#Rqh}HS;O,Њ, P"FE%fe) bYM!y46Y]wPW&,Zg;Mƥaԙ~ՏI#m*A紨 y0 */ۍc*qKK'HpA#8Ȥ9 Qh$')WfBuEև t9RyV@ _<͏U;$P'\8n29ÇF=o}1;َv-,"3q|66djF֭ ذG[K mc+aپV1wH.Və361A2-"=ܞHAy /LԔ.td $rCt$a -I1ucs$=5ң{W`^\wQex%հ`/~XC;4mS4*À !^aXz&@m2Qw vR9{|ve:@Mܷ+zy\'.}ջe!%_ I!ts`}_McPA(@~80}X,/=%R Bm@e4pTSScǪZ/ccBrʅOVm/d%mULbgpzIFWQf vHob"ҚC5c5#2-sٯ߉Jb N3T<`I#𙲉˷e4+T(*uh`{>AѬ>qbB4(`Jf#21pL`$l=p|qhqKBvHopFM (|[y+z)6G$*1WAV13Cqˋa5b^_L[yVWIQw1j^.t5q4ذq &C=P kcFgND:r"03QĄ?b9Gg!~CBg`;t8OHϋA^+a.>6vĽj1(Za.6%Q?hC~K#G-7 磵Pg ۲.3 t^1Nקt0#!}FȷuKϱK*>ωGp@`[~@~0%rni#F$81'K 9Qȋ ]i! V S-7AtKV}+DoIJԀFw@8_4 _̑ ?%'-k鄄u\vγ4-je[pQ(k[mՒï pfHQ" ` |R usxE#h^Fg@T%nAh+?XE?;iVħ8`o(’ - ߶MsV[2Ny Ĵ_GjpWR|YfBq@^Oq2lNmyp9oxaw5kjY ӚN kf2qr0Ëlj?Q|#EUus@Yszù |OƤ{|6^R/Ah?t!Sgk&! 8L-\iYz +SVWl[BߪΜBs_l4m<_ʲ !_"{? ڄWOi @heT g!󪽢L8טҘ}I=jьtW?wӮbtVl2w%{n9cMݒA`?s&(#I0*Gwlk~݈Q ='ܘJWi-%>_5o^xUiD2XrWPW@8#U HЪWgG>. icg9YaS ;5XMsk~{#DX'uh 嫮Xo7+/ĺpw> 5B ʫECQ!ƋGƋЄ˵ߪ'f1%8Vi͏Edj33vAlR|,qR&"#*tN|pnb KLo }"NBӈ,2IL:VOT Fb`2B1ς#BbROe&״?˜A0dQp'cۧ']KxUbMsmt67T`d{19emUGTvxLx0[ h|Ip@h@'R>7GQG&X@؎mL<۪[M)qR"rj̺]^UgZ @A0W,~ʃfؖ[n8#c;5e~%/ s.\nʾ<9pZv{5KYgHelx Ph( jX 1nvF2Vtvb*pQGe,\*IY-q4.;7o٘d[h gZ1R OoΫ2=d3O:Uo9x׎P$)}n¸wꅩrvYo2O䜝a q6XpkT9j=חߖe*V㗼ŬG[T$$A}jx`ɐz#kA*Ya "_:Xv)A5; ʊv4TyC˟FL`RfBYr @T%ݧ$xQWW6+vV&(N)*ST1b|ԧ-µBt\rՁޮɍFS]S.ע[kR[nZ, (v>kI0H񈚡8[3Ԕd/Zr|DHUk)3$C .PK4`/,O:PB/X?7*Q^ jbt=I9Ef`e`کc:4ouM1PBVf261@=oK4g{ݖ?,3>T#V`i*~s^Ap`AK#1D&/6̉e C c.Y0 /ﷃ߲C-'(tpԸ }Z:;L$pD)@+ / RIG$_)ywL|KyA4"&0o05G| >YmF9C|A{IéЦکB+B!k8~N/)C8ї'3u, ;¯k{kw|kXG0F3sYۢIuq B G9\z5nk$.5=)\ tg^=7aOX?nK:i w_3)yINX`ެM\MV pDLIىh)$UW}w_ŃGl,=qZFT]fS$Ő黉nvLxXy𼓕s|h0pH$%tQq XmA#CrしXfb[V$'EXS_pt૿)>K'=뎙@嶖sbR P*!28B78
    Enjoying the preview?
    Page 1 of 1