The American Collection, Vol. I: Foundations In Literature

The American literary tradition is so rich and varied that the Penguin Classics editors have grouped the collection into two volumes, with Volume I focused on the novels, short stories, and poetry through the 19th century, and Volume II focused on the political writings, memoirs, and narratives that chronicle the birth and growth of the nation. In Volume I: Foundations in Literature, you'll find classic stories of the American dream in the works of Horatio Alger (Ragged Dick and Struggling Upward); the African American and Southern traditions represented in the acclaimed fiction of Charles Chesnutt (including The House Behind the Cedars and The Marrow of Tradition); novels of the great westward expansion including James Fenimore Cooper's The Last of the Mohicans and Deerslayer featuring the iconic Natty Bumppo; Nathaniel Hawthorne's works on social and moral values (including The Scarlet Letter and The House of the Seven Gables); the horror stories of Edgar Allen Poe; and of course the body of work from the irrepressible Mark Twain, from his first novel The Gilded Age to the darker Pudd'nhead Wilson to the exuberant Huckleberry Finn. From the Age of Reason through Romanticism, Transcendentalism, the Civil War and the expansion of the 1800s to the dawn of the 20th century, the canvas of American history bursts forth in this collection representing the rich literary legacy of America. Included are 94 titles: Esther by Henry Adams The Inheritance by Louisa May Alcott Work by Louisa May Alcott Little Women by Louisa May Alcott Ragged Dick and Struggling Upward by Horatio Alger Looking Backward by Edward Bellamy Tales of Soldiers and Civilians by Ambrose Bierce Edgar Huntly by Charles Brockden Brown Wieland and Memoirs of Carwin the Biloquist by Charles Brockden Brown The Power of Sympathy and The Coquette by William Hill Brown Clotel by William Wells Brown The Grandissimes by George Washington Cable Conjure Tales and Stories of the Color Line by Charles W. Chesnutt The House Behind the Cedars by Charles W. Chesnutt The Marrow of Tradition by Charles W. Chesnutt Bayou Folk and A Night in Acadie by Kate Chopin At Fault by Kate Chopin A Vocation and a Voice by Kate Chopin The Awakening and Selected Stories by Kate Chopin The Pioneers by James Fenimore Cooper The Pathfinder by James Fenimore Cooper The Spy by James Fenimore Cooper The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper The Deerslayer by James Fenimore Cooper Maggie: A Girl of the Streets by Stephen Crane Miss Ravenel's Conversion from Secession to Loyalty by John W. De Forest Ruth Hall by Fanny Fern The Damnation of Theron Ware by Harold Frederic Nights with Uncle Remus by Joel Chandler Harris Uncle Remus by Joel Chandler Harris The Luck of Roaring Camp and Other Writings by Bret Harte The House of the Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne The Marble Faun by Nathaniel Hawthorne Selected Tales and Sketches by Nathaniel Hawthorne The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne The Blithedale Romance by Nathaniel Hawthorne A Modern Instance by William Dean Howells The Rise of Silas Lapham by William Dean Howells The Emigrants by Gilbert Imlay Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Other Stories by Washington Irving The Awkward Age by Henry James The Europeans by Henry James Roderick Hudson by Henry James Henry James by Henry James The Figure in the Carpet and Other Stories by Henry James The Golden Bowl by Henry James The Princess Casamassima by Henry James The Spoils of Poynton by Henry James The Bostonians by Henry James What Maisie Knew by Henry James The American by Henry James Washington Square by Henry James The Wings of the Dove by Henry James The Turn of the Screw and The Aspern Papers by Henry James The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James The Ambassadors by Henry James Daisy Miller by Henry James The Country of the Pointed Firs and Other Stories by Sarah Orne Jewett A Country Doctor by Sarah Orne Jewett Selected Poems by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow The Confidence-Man by Herman Melville Redburn by Herman Melville Typee by Herman Melville Pierre by Herman Melville Billy Budd and Other Stories by Herman Melville Moby-Dick by Herman Melville The Narrative of Arthur G...