Description
Book SynopsisAbove all, Goodman shows that novels of manners are central to American literature, and that these novels speak in a large cultural way about who and what composes America.
Trade ReviewGoodman aims to show the many ways in which American novelists have scrutinized the norms of everyday life for clues about character, history, morality, social change, and national identity... Her discussions of William Dean Howells, Ellen Glasgow, and Jessie Fauset are particularly cogent. -- Merle Rubin Washington Times Foregrounding questions of taste and manners leads Goodman to a number of new perspectives on the literary production of her subjects. -- Alex Feerst American Literature 2004 Goodman presents an original and compelling argument that forces readers to acknowledge that the novel of manners-which typically focused on attitudes toward race, class, and national identity-did in fact play a central role in American literary and cultural history. This book is notable for its insight and originality. Choice 2003
Table of ContentsContents: Preface Acknowledgments Introduction: American Novelists and Manners 1 William Dean Howells: The Lessons of a Master 2 Henry James: The Final Paradox of Manners 3 Edith Wharton: A Backward Glance 4 Willa Cather: "After 1922 or Thereabout" 5 Ellen Glasgow: A Social History of America 6 Jessie Fauset: The Etiquette of Passing Conclusion: Excursives Notes Selected Bibliography Index
