Harry Sinclair Lewis (February 7, 1885 – January 10, 1951) was an esteemed American novelist, short-story writer, and playwright, renowned for his satirical takes on middle-class America. In 1930, Lewis made history by becoming the first author from the United States, and indeed the Americas, to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature. His award was a recognition "for his vigorous and graphic art of description and his ability to create, with wit and humor, new types of characters."

Lewis authored six popular novels including Main Street (1920), Babbitt (1922), Arrowsmith (1925), Elmer Gantry (1927), Dodsworth (1929), and It Can't Happen Here (1935). These works, among others, were critical of American capitalism and materialism during the interwar period. Lewis's characters, especially his modern working women, were deeply respected for their robust nature. Renowned critic H. L. Mencken once wrote of him, "If there was ever a novelist among us with an authentic call to the trade... it is this red-haired tornado from the Minnesota wilds."