who wrote the octopus? what was it about?

The Octopus was written by Frank Norris. It is a 1901 novel and the first part of an unfinished trilogy called The Epic of the Wheat. The story is about the wheat industry in California and the conflicts between wheat farmers and a railway company, inspired by the real Mussel Slough Tragedy involving the Southern Pacific Railroad. The novel depicts the struggle of wheat farmers in the southern San Joaquin Valley against the powerful Pacific and Southwestern Railroad, illustrating tensions over land ownership, railroad monopoly power, and the farmers' fight to defend their land and livelihoods. The book emphasizes the control of large "forces," such as railroad monopolies, over individuals and their lives.