A Brief History of American Literature offers students and general readers a concise and up-to-date history of the full range of American writing from its origins until the present day.
Represents the only up-to-date concise history of American literature
Covers fiction, poetry, drama and non-fiction, as well as looking at other forms of literature including folktales, spirituals, the detective story, the thriller and science fiction
Considers how our understanding of American literature has changed over the past twenty years
Offers students an abridged version of History of American Literature , a book widely considered the standard survey text
Provides an invaluable introduction to the subject for students of American literature, American studies and all those interested in the literature and culture of the United States
Represents the only up-to-date concise history of American literature
Covers fiction, poetry, drama and non-fiction, as well as looking at other forms of literature including folktales, spirituals, the detective story, the thriller and science fiction
Considers how our understanding of American literature has changed over the past twenty years
Offers students an abridged version of History of American Literature , a book widely considered the standard survey text
Provides an invaluable introduction to the subject for students of American literature, American studies and all those interested in the literature and culture of the United States
"This is a wonderful book. Writing in an elegantly accessible style, Richard Gray offers the reader a truly comprehensive narrative of American literature from the seventeenth to the twenty-first centuries. The entire range, diversity, and richness of American writing are made available here in a single, superbly authoritative volume." --Andrew Hook, University of Glasgow "Drawing upon a lifetime of reading and research in this field, and covering a huge range of material from the Bay Psalm Book to Walter Mosley, Richard Gray's Literature of the United States offers an excellent survey that holds the American cultural tradition in a compelling, synoptic whole." --Paul Giles, University of Sydney "Richard Gray's A Brief History of American Literature is an extraordinary achievement. Gray offers us a fascinating and nuanced overview of United States writing, employing literary sensibility to examine a range of periods and genres." --Susan Castillo, King's College, London