The Journal of Arthur Stirling

First UK edition
Author	Upton Sinclair
Country	United States
Language	English
Genre	Drama/Journal
Publisher	D. Appleton & Company (US) Heinemann (UK)
Publication date	1903
Media type	Print (hardcover)
Pages	xiv+356[1]

The Journal of Arthur Stirling is a novel by author Upton Sinclair, published in 1903. It is written in a first-person perspective, with the main fictional character being Arthur Stirling. Stirling, an unknown poet and writer, sets out to write his first poem, The Captive. He begins writing a journal to help him further his work as an artist—the novel being the journal. The novel begins with an introduction by a character who calls himself, "S."; Stirling already dead by suicide, sends S. a copy of the journal, as well as The Captive for him to read. S. explains the production of the novel in a sense of tribute to Stirling.

Sinclair planted an obituary for Stirling in The New York Times "to raise a sensation", but was widely criticized by journalists and editors for the hoax.^[2]

Upton Sinclair's original version is currently in the Public Domain.

Reception

... if the young man really lived, and, above all, died, as described by this book, then the critic is to a great extent disarmed. ...
We have said, and, as we desire to be fair, we repeat, that the book is clever. But it is not original, and not particularly wholesome.^[3]