San Antonio College Library

"In this volume Donal Pizer undertakes to interpret fully, for the first time, the nature and quality of each of Frank Norris' novels."--Inside jacket

This study examines American literary naturalism as a narrative form and the ways in which it has been reworked in modern and postmodern texts. Departing from the work of such widely diverse theorists as Charles Child Walcutt, Donald Pizer, and Walter Benn Michaels, Paul Civello views naturalism not as a distinctly turn-of-the-century literary phenomenon but as a form of narrative that continued to manifest itself in later literary movements. In tracing...

Traces the social and economic conditions that helped to produce American realism. Analyzing publishing records, personal correspondence, and essays, he shows how dramatic changes in the book market of the late nineteenth century required a redefinition of what a novel was, how it was written, on what basis the author engaged the audience, and what social role the author could play.

Traces the scientific and philosophical expansion of the concept of "force" in the 19th century, particularly in the work of Herbert Spencer, whose "Synthetic Philosophy" made the idea available to a wide range of writers. Details how Spencer helped to shape social ideals, ethical standards and the way people conceived of their place metaphysically in a period that was dominated by secular and scientific thought. Martin scrutinizes the force theory...

This book contains the text of the first edition of McTeague and background and sources and criticism of the book.