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 | | Washington Irving, Herman Melville, Nathaniel Hawthorne. American Story. | Elibron Classics, 2000, 205 pages.
ISBN 9780543899385 paperback
ISBN 9780543899378 hardcover |
Table of Contents Sample Pages We recommend to print out sample pages to evaluate the quality of a reprint. | | Washington Irving (1783-1859), list of works | |  | | Washington Irving, known to countless readers as the author of such quirky tales as The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle, set out to become a lawyer, but turned to literature due to poor health. His weak constitution didn't prevent him from writing and travelling extensively, however, supported by his family until diplomatic work and literary success fortified his independence. In addition to his American sketches, Irving penned a wide range of historical works, including biographies of George Washington and Mohammed. |
| Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864), list of works | |  | | A descendant of the Salem witch-hunter John Hathorne, Nathaniel Hawthorne rose to fame in 1850 with the publication of his novel The Scarlet Letter - an examination of the Puritan culture to which his ancestor belonged. (Hawthorne so despised the deeds of his famous ancestor that he changed the spelling of his surname in order to hide his heritage.) In later years, after gaining fame as a writer, Hawthorne attempted to track down and destroy every extant copy of his first novel, Fanshawe, which had not fared well with critics. |
| Herman Melville (1819-1891), list of works | | | Herman Melville's priviliged childhood ended in his early adolescence, when his father became mentally ill; he left school at thirteen, working various jobs to support his family. At nineteen he became a sailor, accumulating as a whaler and naval seaman the experiences which inspired the adventure stories of his novels. Melville's writings had little popular appreciation until the 1920's, when American readers came to appreciate the gripping narrative and rich philosophical allegories of such sea stories as Omoo, the posthumously-published Billy Budd, Foretopman, and Melville's greatest work, Moby-Dick. |
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