Sherwood Anderson
A Biographical and Critical Study
1st Edition
Published on 1. June 2026
Book
Hardback
292 pages
978-1-041-32763-9 (ISBN)
Description
Originally published in 1951 and reissued in 1966 this book combines stimulating biography with sound literary criticism in its account of a writer who observed America's great nineteenth century change from an agrarian to an industrial society. Irving Howe places Anderson in the cultural context of his times and gives a fresh and balanced judgment both of his virtues and limitations. As an artist, the author of Winesburg, Ohio and Dark Laughter was over-valued and then ignored; Howe concludes that the best of Anderson's work is a durable part of the American literary structure and an enrichment of the American imagination.
Reviews / Votes
Original reviews of Sherwood Anderson:'[He writes] about Anderson's work with a quiet, patient, discerning, instructed power that makes his own book itself a literary event.' The New York Times Book Review
'In Irving Howe's Sherwood Anderson the most illuminating passages are, first, that in which Howe traces the 'strand of action' that runs through the tales in Winesburg, Ohio and ties the characters together around the central theme of their 'lostness'; and second, his brilliant and subtle analysis of the oral narrative method in the triumphantly short stories which came later...' The Yale Review
'The chapter on Winesburg, Ohio is the most searching and the fairest discuss that the book has ever received.' Malcolm Cowley, New York Herald Tribune Book Review
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Target group
College/higher education
Postgraduate and Undergraduate Advanced
Dimensions
Height: 216 mm
Width: 138 mm
Weight
700 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-041-32763-9 (9781041327639)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
06/2026
Routledge
€39.49
Available for download
E-Book
06/2026
Routledge
€39.49
Available for download
Content
Author's Note 1966. Preface. 'A Fair and Sweet Town'. Success and Consequences. 'A Will to Splendour'. The Book of the Grotesque. Conditions of Fame. The Short Stories. In the Lawrencian Orbit. The Downward Curve. Final Wanderings. An American as Artist.