The rediscovery and current popularity of Stoner by John Williams, a tale of a man who marries unwisely recalls to mind other classic with similar themes that have fallen a bit out of fashion.
In the U.S. the most notable example is probably Theodore Dreiser's An American Tragedy, a tale of a young man who finds he has a good chance of improving his lot with an advantageous marriage, if only he were not already entangled with a now inconvenient woman.
In Britain, two semi-autobiographical novels trace similar tales:
Samuel Butler's The Way of All Flesh, the traces the rise of one family's fortunes only to have the young descendant squander this social climb with series missteps with women.
And Finally Somerset Maugham's Of Human Bondage, wherein a young man with many advantages struggles in life dueto an obsession with an unworthy women of lower social station.
by econoquist