Stephen Crane: The Contemporary Reviews

by George Monteiro

Overview

Stephen Crane (1871–1900) was a controversial figure in American literature and journalism. In a literary career that lasted a mere decade he produced short stories, novellas, novels and poetry for which he was both lauded and reviled. With The Red Badge of Courage he entered the American canon. Despite Crane's lack of experience of war at the time of the novel's composition, it is a classic of realist war fiction. This book presents a representative selection of the reviews of Stephen Crane's books, beginning with the publication of his first novel, Maggie: A Girl of the Streets (1893), through the posthumously published last novel, The O'Ruddy (1903). Many of the reviews will be new to Crane scholars. The volume offers readers an insight into how Crane's reputation was formed and how it changed during his lifetime, ending with the shifts in emphasis upon his early death.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780511700354
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	08/13/2009
Series:	American Critical Archives , #17
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	458 KB

About the Author

George Monteiro is Emeritus Professor of English and of Portuguese and Brazilian Studies at Brown University.

Table of Contents

Introduction; Reviews: Maggie: A Girl of the Streets (1893); The Black Riders and Other Lines (1895); The Red Badge of Courage (1895); George's Mother (1896); Maggie: A Girl of the Streets (1896); The Little Regiment and Other Episodes of the American Civil War (1896); The Third Violet (1897); The Open Boat and Other Tales of Adventure (1898); Pictures of War (1898); War is Kind (1899); Active Service: A Novel (1899); The Monster and Other Stories (1899); Bowery Tales (1900); Whilomville Stories (1900); Wounds in the Rain (1900); The Monster and Other Stories (1901); Great Battles of the World (1901); Last Words (1902); The O'Ruddy (1903); Index.

Editorial Reviews

"Monteiro’s hard work shows in Stephen Crane: The Contemporary Reviews, which reprints numerous reviews of Crane’s books from Maggie (1893) to The O’Ruddy (1903). Each chapter also lists additional reviews not reprinted in this collection. Noting that Crane’s contemporary recognition was a transatlantic phenomenon, Monteiro includes many reviews from Great Britain as well as the United States. This collection gives readers an excellent overview of Crane’s critical reception, which will prove useful for decades to come."
-Kevin J. Hayes, University of Central Oklahoma

"this book is indispensable for understanding Crane's reception amid a clamorous, historically significant, and, dare I say, highly entertaining literary climate."
-Robert M. Dowling,Central Connecticut State University

"It will certainly prove valuable to Crane Specialists, but it offers equal value to those who will come to it from other specialties and perspectives."
-Benjamin F. Fisher, University of Mississippi

From the Publisher