The 16 volumes in this set, originally published between 1963 and 1996, explore the American Novel, with a focus on several of the most influential authors in U.S. history. The volumes examine the works of Mark Twain, Edgar Allan Poe, Emily Dickinson, William Faulkner and F. Scott Fitzgerald. The titles in this set also explore the recurring themes in American Literature, particularly that of the ‘American Dream’. This set will be of interest to students of Literature and American History.
By D. E. S. Maxwell
June 18, 2019
Originally published in 1963. The ‘Americanness’ of the American novel is as readily apparent as it is elusive of definition. It is the purpose of this study not to discover the reluctant formula, the comprehensive statement of national identity, but to examine the evidences of this identity in the...
By Catherine D. Holmes
June 18, 2019
The annotations in this volume, originally published in 1996, intend to assist the reader of Faulkner’s The Hamlet to understand obscure or difficult words and passages, including literary allusions, dialect, and historical events that Faulkner uses or alludes to. This title will be of great ...
By Karen Dandurand
June 18, 2019
This bibliography, first published in 1988, is intended to make more readily accessible the wealth of Dickinson criticism and scholarship that appeared from 1969 through 1985. During the 17 years that are covered in this bibliography nearly 800 books, articles and dissertations have appeared. The ...
By Benita A. Moore
June 18, 2019
This title, originally published in 1988, examines F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Catholic roots and his repudiation of those roots in pursuit of the American dream. The study aims to suggest that an investigation of Fitzgerald’s basic cultural and religious milieu might illuminate what he wrote, and may ...
By James A. Snead
June 18, 2019
Originally published in 1986. William Faulkner’s major novels represent one of the earliest American explorations into the paradoxes inherent in both literary discourse and racial segregation in the American South. Figures of Division demonstrates that these works reject conventional divisions and ...
By Michael L. Burduck
June 18, 2019
This title, originally published in 1992, presents an assessment of Poe’s short stories that treat horror, and more specifically how he manipulated the conventions of that horror to register subtly on the fears and phobias of his reading audiences. Short-stories examined include The Black Cat, ...
By D. E. S. Maxwell
June 18, 2019
In this fascinating and revealing book, first published in 1968, Maxwell examines the life and work of Herman Melville. By dividing extracts of Melville’s work in chronological order, the sections clearly illustrate the various facets of Melville’s technique and thought as it evolves. This title is...
By Harold Beaver
June 18, 2019
Originally published in 1987. Popular from its first publication, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn remains at the centre of heated controversy. Is it an adult novel or juvenile fiction? Is Huck a new model hero from the West or just another amoral prankster? Harold Beaver reconciles these divergent ...
By George Dekker
June 18, 2019
Originally published in 1967. In this critical survey of the fiction of James Fenimore Cooper, George Dekker devotes a good deal of attention to Cooper’s politics. He also explores the assimilation and development of the historical novel as first perfected by Sir Walter Scott. Cooper’s major formal...
By I. M. Walker
June 18, 2019
Originally published in 1970. Mark Twain is generally known as a children’s writer. This serious and appreciative introduction by I. M. Walker shows that he is in fact a great writer who produced mature and developed literature. The study of his works is divided into five sections: the comic ...
Edited
By David E. E. Sloane
June 18, 2019
Originally published in 1993. The purpose of this volume is to lay out documents which give an estimate of Mark Twain as a humourist in both historical scope and in the analysis of modern scholars. The emphasis in this collection is on how Twain developed from a contemporary humourist among many ...
By Elizabeth Long
June 18, 2019
This title, originally published in 1985, examines conceptions of success and the good life expressed in bestselling novels – ranging from historical sagas and spy thrillers to more serious works by Updike, Bellows, Steinbeck and Mailer – published from 1945 to 1975. Using these popular books as ...