American Literature in Context: 1865 - 1900

by Andrew Hook

First published between 1982 and 1983, this series examines the peculiarly American cultural context out of which the nation s literature has developed. Covering the years from 1865 to 1900, this third volume of "American Literature in Context" focuses on the struggles of American writers to make sense of their rapidly changing world. In addition to such major figures as Walt Whitman, Henry James, Emily Dickinson and Mark Twain, it analyses the writings of an unorthodox economist (Henry George), a Utopian reformer (Edward Bellamy) and a critical sociologist (Thorstein Veblen). Particular attention is paid to the challenge to conventional literary and cultural values represented by writers such as William Dean Howell who pursued a new form of scientific, democratic realism in American writing.

This book will be of interest to those studying American literature and American studies."

210 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1983

About the author

Andrew Hook is Emiritus Bradley Professor of English Literature at the University of Glasgow.

Earlier in his career he taught in the English departments of Edinburgh and Aberdeen universities. Since his retiral in the 1990s he has lectured and taught in a range of American colleges and universities.

He is a fellow of the British Academy and the Royal Society of Edinburgh. His scholarship focuses on English, Scottish and American literatures.