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Overview
The Fountainhead is a novel by Russian-born American author and philosopher Ayn Rand that was first published in 1943
. Her her first great success, it centers on an architect who represents Rand’s ideas about how the individual struggles against society. The novel frowns upon pity and compassion and advocates the use of violence as a tool like any other—neither good nor bad, but sometimes necessary. Surprising those who considered The Fountainhead to be an unfilmable work, it was adapted into a 1949 movie directed by King Vidor that was based on Rand’s screenplay and starred Gary Cooper as Howard Roark, the architect.Read the full book summary, an in-depth character analysis of Howard Roark, and explanations of important quotes from The Fountainhead.
