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Why did Doubleday, Page and Company limit advertising for Sister Carrie?
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Theodore Dreiser
His first published novel Sister Carrie had a limited printing because of the controversial subject matter.
Doubleday, Page and Company limited the advertising for Theodore Dreiser's novel Sister Carrie due to concerns regarding the book's storyline.1
The publisher was uncomfortable with the novel's depiction of a young woman who engages in "immorality"âspecifically, living as a kept womanâwithout facing any punishment for her actions. Because the firm's leadership viewed this lack of moral consequence as contrary to conventional standards, they restricted the book's promotion, which resulted in fewer than 500 copies being sold upon its initial release in 1900.21