| Description |
xii, 225 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm. |
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text txt rdacontent |
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unmediated n rdamedia |
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volume nc rdacarrier |
| Series |
Cambridge introductions to literature |
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Cambridge introductions to literature.
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| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references (pages 204-215) and index. |
| Contents |
Introduction: American literary realism -- 1. Literary precursors, literary contexts -- 2. The 'look of agony' and everyday middle-class life: three transitional works -- 3. Creating the 'odor' of the real: techniques of realism -- 4. Conflicting manners: high realism and social competition -- 5. 'Democracy in literature'? Literary regionalism -- 6. 'The blab of the pave': realism and the city -- 7. Crisis of agency: literary naturalism, economic change, 'masculinity' -- 8. 'Certain facts of life': realism and feminism -- 9. 'The unjust spirit of caste': realism and race -- 10. New Americans write realism -- Conclusion: realisms after realism. |
| Summary |
"Between the Civil War and the First World War, realism was the most prominent form of American fiction. Realist writers of the period include some of America's greatest, such as Henry James, Edith Wharton and Mark Twain, but also many lesser-known writers whose work still speaks to us today, for instance Charles Chesnutt, Zitkala-Sa and Sarah Orne Jewett. Emphasizing realism's historical context, this introduction traces the genre's relationship with powerful, often violent, social conflicts involving race, gender, class and national origin. It also examines how the realist style was created; the necessarily ambiguous relationship between realism produced on the page and reality outside the book; and the different, often contradictory, forms 'realism' took in literary works by different authors. The most accessible yet sophisticated account of American literary realism currently available, this volume will be of great value to students, teachers and readers of the American novel"-- Provided by publisher. |
| Subject |
American fiction -- 19th century -- History and criticism.
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American fiction -- 20th century -- History and criticism.
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Literature and society -- United States -- History -- 19th century.
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Literature and society -- United States -- History -- 20th century.
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Realism in literature.
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Popular literature -- United States -- History and criticism.
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National characteristics, American, in literature.
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American fiction. (OCoLC)fst00807048
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Literature. (OCoLC)fst00999953
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Literature and society. (OCoLC)fst01000096
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National characteristics, American. (OCoLC)fst01033342
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Popular literature. (OCoLC)fst01071405
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Realism. (OCoLC)fst01091228
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United States. (OCoLC)fst01204155
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| Chronological Term |
1800 - 1999
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| Genre/Form |
Criticism, interpretation, etc. (OCoLC)fst01411635
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History. (OCoLC)fst01411628
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| ISBN |
9780521897693 (hardback) |
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0521897696 (hardback) |
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9780521050104 (paperback) |
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0521050103 (paperback) |
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