The Fountainhead is a 1943 novel by Russian-American author Ayn Rand, her first major literary success. The novel's protagonist, Howard Roark, is an intransigent young architect who battles against conventional standards and refuses to compromise with an architectural establishment unwilling to accept innovation. Roark embodies what Rand believed to be the ideal man, and his struggle reflects Rand's belief that individualism is superior to collectivism.
Cover of the first edition
Ayn Rand in 1943
In writing the character of Howard Roark, Rand was inspired by the architect Frank Lloyd Wright.
Patricia Neal played Dominique Francon in the film adaptation.
Alice O'Connor, better known by her pen name Ayn Rand, was a Russian-born American author and philosopher. She is known for her fiction and for developing a philosophical system she named Objectivism. Born and educated in Russia, she moved to the United States in 1926. After two early novels that were initially unsuccessful and two Broadway plays, Rand achieved fame with her 1943 novel The Fountainhead. In 1957, she published her best-selling work, the novel Atlas Shrugged. Afterward, until her death in 1982, she turned to non-fiction to promote her philosophy, publishing her own periodicals and releasing several collections of essays.
Rand in 1943
Rand's first published work was a monograph in Russian about actress Pola Negri.
Rand's play Night of January 16th opened on Broadway in 1935.
The Fountainhead was Rand's first bestseller.
