“Written as a guide to the American novel, 1865-1914, this absorbing volume sums up a lifetime of reading, thinking, and teaching by a formidable scholar-critic. Incisive readings of individual works and illuminating commentary on intellectual and social history make this an indispensable resource, not just for students but for readers of all sorts–including those (like myself) who thought they knew this field fairly well already. The sheer amount of knowledge that G. R. Thompson brings to bear on his subject is prodigious, and his insights into the persistence of romanticism and the romance genre in an era associated with realism, naturalism, and early modernism seemed especially provocative.”
―J. Gerald Kennedy, Louisiana State University
“With extraordinary skill and exemplary clarity, G. R. Thompson deftly unravels the complex definitional tangles of late 19th-century American fiction to reveal how the dynamic double helix of realism and romance fostered an artistically rich array of hybrid literary forms resistant to simplistic labeling.”
―William J. Scheick, University of Texas at Austin
From the Inside Flap
An indispensable tool for teachers and students of American literature, Reading the American Novel 1865-1914 provides a comprehensive introduction to the American novel in the post-civil war period. Leading literary scholar G. R. Thompson shares his insights into the fiction of one of the most pivotal periods in American literature, and each chapter offers both a lucid distillation of the key conditions of the historical and cultural contexts and a practical guide for studying literary works.
An accessible introduction to the literature of the period, this book demonstrates the changing mentality of 19th-century America entering the 20th century, framed between two monumental wars. Demonstrating different attitudes toward and representations of contemporary concerns as they appeared in literature, Thompson addresses the relationship between the intellectual and artistic output of the time and the turbulent socio-political context. Written in clear and accessible prose, with fresh insights and textual analysis, this is an illuminating read for anyone interested in 19th-century and early modern fiction, American literature, and American cultural history.
From the Back Cover
An indispensable tool for teachers and students of American literature, Reading the American Novel 1865-1914 provides a comprehensive introduction to the American novel in the post-civil war period. Leading literary scholar G. R. Thompson shares his insights into the fiction of one of the most pivotal periods in American literature, and each chapter offers both a lucid distillation of the key conditions of the historical and cultural contexts and a practical guide for studying literary works.
An accessible introduction to the literature of the period, this book demonstrates the changing mentality of 19th-century America entering the 20th century, framed between two monumental wars. Demonstrating different attitudes toward and representations of contemporary concerns as they appeared in literature, Thompson addresses the relationship between the intellectual and artistic output of the time and the turbulent socio-political context. Written in clear and accessible prose, with fresh insights and textual analysis, this is an illuminating read for anyone interested in 19th-century and early modern fiction, American literature, and American cultural history.
About the Author
G. R. Thompson is Emeritus Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Purdue University. He has written widely on the topic of American fiction and romanticism, including books and articles on the relation of the romance to the realist tradition, the gothic fiction of Edgar Allan Poe, the short stories of Nathaniel Hawthorne, and the travel narratives of Herman Melville. He is the editor of various editions, including the Norton Critical Edition of The Selected Writings of Edgar Allan Poe. He is the former editor of Poe Studies and ESQ: A Journal of the American Renaissance.
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