McTeague is a dentist of limited intellect from a poor miner's family, who has opened a dentist shop on Polk Street in San Francisco. (His first name is never revealed; other characters in the novel call him simply "Mac.") His best friend, Marcus Schouler, brings his cousin, Trina Sieppe, whom he is courting, to McTeague's parlor for dental work. McTeague becomes infatuated with her while working on her teeth, and Marcus graciously steps aside. McTeague successfully woos Trina. Shortly after McTeague and Trina have kissed and declared their love for each other, Trina discovers that she has won $5000 from a lottery ticket. In the ensuing celebration Trina's mother, Mrs Sieppe, announces that McTeague and Trina are to marry. Marcus becomes jealous of McTeague, and claims that he has been cheated out of money that would have been rightfully his if he had married Trina.
The marriage takes place, and Mrs Sieppe, along with the rest of Trina's family, move away from San Francisco, leaving her alone with McTeague. Trina proves to be a parsimonious wife; she refuses to touch the principal of her $5000, which she invests with her uncle. She insists that she and McTeague must live on the earnings from McTeague's dental practice, the small income from the $5000 investment, and the bit of money she earns from carving small wooden figures of Noah's animals and his Ark for sale in her uncle's shop. Secretly, she accumulates penny-pinched savings in a locked trunk. Though the couple are happy, the friendship between Marcus and Mac deteriorates. More than once the two men come to grips; each time McTeague's immense physical strength prevails, and eventually he breaks Marcus' arm in a fight. When Marcus recovers, he goes south, intending to become a rancher; before he leaves, he visits the McTeagues, and he and Mac part apparently as friends.
Catastrophe strikes when McTeague is debarred from practising dentistry by the authorities; it becomes clear that before leaving, Marcus has taken revenge on Mac by informing city hall that he has no license or degree. McTeague loses his practice and the couple are forced to move into successively poorer quarters as Trina becomes more and more miserly. Their life together deteriorates until McTeague takes all Trina's domestic savings (amounting to $400 or roughly $10,000 in 2010 values) and abandons her. Meanwhile, Trina falls completely under the spell of money and withdraws the principal of her prior winnings in gold from her uncle's firm so she can admire and handle the coins in her room, at one point spreading them over her bed and rolling around in them.
When McTeague returns, destitute once more, she refuses to give him money even for food. Aggravated and made violent by whisky, McTeague beats her to death. He takes the entire hoard of gold and heads out to a mining community that he had left years before. Sensing pursuit, he makes his way south towards Mexico; meanwhile, Marcus hears of the murder and joins the hunt for McTeague, finally catching him in Death Valley. In the middle of the desert Marcus and McTeague fight over McTeague's remaining water and, when that is lost and they are already doomed, over Trina's $5,000. McTeague kills Marcus, but as he dies, Marcus handcuffs himself to McTeague. The final, dramatic image of the novel is one of McTeague stranded, alone and helpless. He is left with only the company of Marcus's corpse, to whom he is handcuffed, in the desolate, arid waste of Death Valley.
Available On:
Publisher: L.A. Theatre Works
Released: 2007
by Josh Sharpe – March 09, 2026
Following performances in London and New York, award-winning singer and performer Henry Patterson has set the release of his debut studio album, Broadway Maybe.
by A.A. Cristi – March 09, 2026
TRW has secured worldwide performance rights for NEVER CAN SAY GOODBYE: The '70s Beehive Musical, expanding on the success of BEEHIVE: The 60s Musical.
by A.A. Cristi – March 06, 2026
Theatrical icon Charles Busch and cabaret artist Travis Moser have released their new album 'MIXTAPE', recorded live at The Laurie Beechman Theatre and now available on all music platforms.
by Josh Sharpe – March 06, 2026
Theater artist Charles Busch and cabaret artist Travis Moser have teamed up to release their new album, 'Mixtape,' based on the live show of the same name, recorded at NYC's Laurie Beechman Theatre.
by Chloe Rabinowitz – March 06, 2026
Singer-songwriter Jessie Altman has released her new EP Sleepwalking today, marking the first full project under her newly embraced artist name.
by Chloe Rabinowitz – March 06, 2026
Concord Theatricals Recordings has released Georgia Stitt's Bell Tower, an album featuring twenty-six theatrical art songs performed by Broadway stars and recording artists.
by Team BWW – March 05, 2026
Voting is now open for the 2025 BroadwayWorld Stage Recording Awards, celebrating outstanding achievements in theatrical and performance-based recordings released during the 2025 calendar year.
by Josh Sharpe – March 04, 2026
West End performer Killian Donnelly (The Phantom of the Opera, Les Misérables) is featured on a new space-opera concept album from musical collective LIM.
by Chloe Rabinowitz – March 02, 2026
Center Stage Records will release If the Stars Were Mine, the debut album from Claybourne Elder – best known for starring in HBO's “The Gilded Age” and Broadway's Company – in digital and streaming formats.
by Josh Sharpe – February 27, 2026
Tony Award-nominated composer has released The Symphonic Suites, an album comprised of new symphonic interpretations of four of his celebrated musical theatre scores, including Dracula, Jekyll & Hyde, Einstein: A Matter of Time, and Artus Excalibur (aka XCalibur).
by Chloe Rabinowitz – February 27, 2026
Ghostlight Records has released Next to Normal: Original London Cast Recording as a special 2-CD set.
by A.A. Cristi – February 26, 2026
Beat by Beat Press has released three new youth musicals—OLYMPUS: THE GREEK ROCK MUSICAL, NEW SHERIFF IN TOWN, and STAR POWER—for global licensing.
by Team BWW – February 23, 2026
This is the final chance to submi nominations for the 2025 BroadwayWorld Stage Recording Awards, celebrating outstanding achievements in theatrical and performance-based recordings released during the 2025 calendar year.
by Josh Sharpe – February 20, 2026
The offical motion picture soundtrack has been released for EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert, the new cinematic experience from filmmaker Baz Luhrmann.
by Chloe Rabinowitz – February 20, 2026
Joy Machine Records has released All the World's a Stage: Original Cast Recording – the new musical with book, music and lyrics by Adam Gwon.
by Nicole Rosky – February 20, 2026
The Wingstastic Book Fair brings theatre lovers an extraordinary opportunity to own rare and signed Broadway treasures while supporting a vital nonprofit mission: preserving theatre history.
by Chloe Rabinowitz – February 20, 2026
Joy Machine Records has released All the World’s a Stage: Original Cast Recording – the new musical with book, music and lyrics by Adam Gwon.
by Chloe Rabinowitz – February 20, 2026
Center Stage Records has released the world premiere recording of THE MAGICIAN'S ELEPHANT, based on the acclaimed novel.
by Nicole Rosky – February 25, 2026
Broadway's Andrew Keenan-Bolger is making a showstopping YA debut with Limelight (now available where books are sold), a poignant coming-of-age novel about identity, first love, and the power of the arts to help young people feel seen.
by Nicole Rosky – February 20, 2026
Broadway's Andrew Keenan-Bolger is making a showstopping YA debut with Limelight, a poignant coming-of-age novel about identity, first love, and the power of the arts to help young people feel seen.
by Chloe Rabinowitz – February 19, 2026
Adam Gwon’s new musical All the World’s a Stage will be released as an original cast album.
by Chloe Rabinowitz – February 19, 2026
The Al Hirschfeld Foundation will present a new collection titled Hirschfeld's Icons: A Poster Book featuring iconic figures like Elvis and Madonna.
by Josh Sharpe – February 18, 2026
Tony Award winner and international musical theater performer Alfie Boe has set the release of his first-ever album of predominantly original material, Face Myself, arriving on April 10.
by Chloe Rabinowitz – February 17, 2026
The Grand Teton Music Festival will release of Mahler: Symphony No.
by Chloe Rabinowitz – February 17, 2026
The concept album for the new musical in development, Signs of Life, will be released on all streaming platforms.
by Josh Sharpe – February 17, 2026
The Housemaid, the hit thriller film starring Amanda Seyfried and Sydney Sweeney, will arrive on Blu-ray, DVD, and an Amazon-Exclusive 4K UHD Combo Pack on March 17 from Lionsgate.
by Josh Sharpe – February 16, 2026
Atlanta-based composer and music producer Eugene IV is releasing an album featuring music from and inspired by the Theatrical Outfit world premiere of the musical Young John Lewis.
by Josh Sharpe – February 12, 2026
Claybourne Elder will release a studio recording of his popular one-man show, If the Stars Were Mine on April 3 from Center Stage Records.
by Josh Sharpe – February 11, 2026
Just in time for the streaming debut of Wicked: For Good on Peacock, Republic Records will release a brand-new pop-up vinyl edition of the soundtrack featuring an embossed cover and a pop-up gatefold jacket depicting Elphaba, Glinda, Grimmerie pages, and more.
Videos