Views and Reviews in American Literature, History, and Fiction: First Series

William Gilmore Simms

Published by Harvard University Press 1962

Views and Reviews in American Literature, History, and Fiction

First Series

William Gilmore Simms
Edited by: C. Hugh Holman

Volume 91 in the series The John Harvard Library

https://doi.org/10.4159/harvard.9780674866232

Overview
Contents

About this book

The idea of "the great American novel" continues to thrive almost as vigorously as in its nineteenth-century heyday, defying 150 years of attempts to dismiss it as amateurish or obsolete. In this landmark book, the first in many years to take in the whole sweep of national fiction, Lawrence Buell reanimates this supposedly antiquated idea, demonstrating that its history is a key to the dynamics of national literature and national identity itself.

The dream of the G.A.N., as Henry James nicknamed it, crystallized soon after the Civil War. In fresh, in-depth readings of selected contenders from the 1850s onward in conversation with hundreds of other novels, Buell delineates four "scripts" for G.A.N. candidates. One, illustrated by The Scarlet Letter, is the adaptation of the novel's story-line by later writers, often in ways that are contrary to the original author's own design. Other aspirants, including The Great Gatsby and Invisible Man, engage the American Dream of remarkable transformation from humble origins. A third script, seen in Uncle Tom's Cabin and Beloved, is the family saga that grapples with racial and other social divisions. Finally,mega-novels from Moby-Dick to Gravity's Rainbow feature assemblages of characters who dramatize in microcosm the promise and pitfalls of democracy.

The canvas of the great American novel is in constant motion, reflecting revolutions in fictional fashion, the changing face of authorship, and the inseparability of high culture from popular. As Buell reveals, the elusive G.A.N. showcases the myth of the United States as a nation perpetually under construction.

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	v
Introduction Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	vii
Americanism in literature Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	7
The epochs and events of American History , as suited to the purposes of Art in Fiction INTRODUCTORY. TRUE USES OF HISTORY. OBJECTS OF ART. ITS DUCTILITY AND UNIVERSALITY Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	30
Literature and art among the American aborigines Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	128
Daniel Boon - the First Hunter of Kentucky Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	148
Cortes and the Conquest of Mexico Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	178
The writings of James Fenimore Cooper Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	258

(Deutsch)

Language: English
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Copyright year: 1962
Edition: Reprint 2014
Audience: Professional and scholarly;
Pages
- Front matter: 43
- Main content: 292
Keywords: American literature -- History and criticism.

eBook

Published: October 1, 2013
ISBN: 9780674866232

Hardcover

Published: February 5, 1962
ISBN: 9780674866225