Frank ___, Progressive-era novelist who wrote “The Octopus” and “McTeague”

As a detective solving the mystery of the crossword clue ‘Frank ___, Progressive-era novelist who wrote “The Octopus” and “McTeague”‘, the first step would be to gather information on the Progressive-era in America and the literature produced during that time. A quick search would lead me to realize that ‘The Octopus‘ and ‘McTeague‘ were both popular novels written during the Progressive-era that addressed important social and political issues of that time.

At this point, I would start brainstorming names of notable authors who wrote during that period, knowing that the answer must be a surname with six letters ending in ‘is’. Then, I would remember a famous American novelist named Frank Norris, whose works discussed the social and economic dislocation of the time. Upon further investigation, I found that Norris indeed wrote The Octopus and McTeague, confirming that the answer to the crossword clue is NORRIS.

With this knowledge, it becomes clear that Norris was an influential author of the Progressive-era whose work addressed social and political issues, making him a significant figure in American literary history. The thought process and insights that led me to this answer demonstrate the importance of understanding the context and history surrounding a particular clue to solve a mystery.