Denise Knight – författare

The American literary canon has undergone revision and expansion in recent years, and our notions of the 19th-century renaissance have been reevaluated. Mainstream anthologies have been revised to reflect the expanding literary canon, yet resources for readers have remained widely scattered. This book expands earlier definitions of the 19th-century American Renaissance as represented by canonical writers such as Emerson and Poe, covering writers who published popular fiction and dominated the literary marketplace of the day. Included is generous coverage of women writers and writers of color.The volume provides alphabetically arranged entries for more than 70 writers of the period, including Louisa May Alcott, Emily Dickinson, Frederick Douglass, Margaret Fuller, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Henry David Thoreau, Walt Whitman, and many more. Each entry was written by an expert contributor and includes a brief biography, a discussion of major works and themes, a survey of the writer's critical reception, and primary and secondary bibliographies.

As the American literary canon has undergone revision and expansion in recent years, the influence of women writers of the nineteenth century has been reevaluated. The first book of its kind, this reference provides alphabetically arranged entries for more than 70 nineteenth-century American women writers, such as Louisa May Alcott, Margaret Fuller, Emma Lazarus, and Harriet Beecher Stowe. Each entry is written by an expert contributor and includes a biography, a discussion of the author's major works and themes, an overview of the critical studies examining the writer's works, and a bibliography of works for further consultation.The nineteenth century gave birth to some of the richest works in American literature. For decades, nineteenth-century authors such as Hawthorne, Melville, Poe, Emerson, Thoreau, and Whitman have been considered the dominant figures of the period, and other writers have received much less attention. But the scope and focus of American literary studies has shifted dramatically in recent years, and mainstream anthologies have been revised to reflect changes in the canon. One of the most exciting changes has been the reassessment of the contributions of American women writers of the nineteenth century. Some of these women, such as Louisa May Alcott and Harriet Beecher Stowe, are fairly well known. Others, such as Charlotte Perkins Gilman, have been the subject of much recent critical attention. But despite the resurgence of interest in American women writers of the nineteenth century, resources for readers have remained widely scattered.This reference book is the first work of its kind to offer comprehensive entries on more than 70 American women writers who published during the nineteenth century. Featuring authors who have long been assimilated into the literary canon as well as once-popular writers who have largely been forgotten, this volume invites a critical reassessment of the contributions of these writers to American literary history. Entries are written by expert contributors and are arranged alphabetically to facilitate access. Each entry includes a biographical sketch, a discussion of the writer's major works and themes, an overview of the critical response to the writer, and a bibliography of works by and about the writer. To encourage additional research, the volume closes with a bibliography of significant studies of nineteenth-century American women writers.

The American literary canon has undergone revision and expansion in recent years, and our notions of the 19th-century renaissance have been reevaluated. Mainstream anthologies have been revised to reflect the expanding literary canon, yet resources for readers have remained widely scattered. This book expands earlier definitions of the 19th-century American Renaissance as represented by canonical writers such as Emerson and Poe, covering writers who published popular fiction and dominated the literary marketplace of the day. Included is generous coverage of women writers and writers of color.The volume provides alphabetically arranged entries for more than 70 writers of the period, including Louisa May Alcott, Emily Dickinson, Frederick Douglass, Margaret Fuller, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Henry David Thoreau, Walt Whitman, and many more. Each entry was written by an expert contributor and includes a brief biography, a discussion of major works and themes, a survey of the writer's critical reception, and primary and secondary bibliographies.

Charlotte Perkins Gilman has reemerged as a major American literary figure, as evidenced by the republication of many of her stories and novels and an explosion of scholarship on her. This collection of letters, the last significant portion of Gilman's private papers to remain unpublished, fills a crucial gap in Gilman scholarship, providing countless insights into her character through her own words. Denise D. Knight and Jennifer S. Tuttle have transcribed, edited, and contextualized the letters, taken from numerous archives and private collections, and organized them both thematically and chronologically. The Selected Letters of Charlotte Perkins Gilman makes accessible the many intricate narratives created by Gilman's correspondences. The editors have grouped letters according to the significant events in Gilman's life and the important people to whom she wrote, including her friends and family members. Some letters echo her social theories on political topics, while others document Gilman's battles with her private demons, such as depression and chronic poverty. Through this careful collection and contextualization, the editors provide essential facets of Gilman's biography that would otherwise be lost. Taken together, these letters provide valuable insights into Gilman's personality, illuminating the dichotomy between her strong, rational public persona and her vulnerable private side.