Search results for ""author thomas ruys smith""

In 1836 Benjamin Drake, a midwestern writer of popular sketches for newspapers of the day, introduced his readers to a new and distinctly American rascal who rode the steamboats up and down the Mississippi and other western waterways - the riverboat gambler. These men, he recorded, ""dress with taste and elegance; carry gold chronometers in their pockets; and swear with the most genteel precision.... Every where throughout the valley, these mistletoe gentry are called by the original, if not altogether classic, cognomen of 'Black-legs.'"" In Blacklegs, Card Sharps, and Confidence Men, Thomas Ruys Smith collects nineteenth-century stories, sketches, and book excerpts by a gallery of authors to create a comprehensive collection of writings about the riverboat gambler. Long an iconic figure in American myth and popular culture but, strangely, one that has never until now received a book-length treatment, the Mississippi River gambler was a favourite character throughout the nineteenth century - one often rich with moral ambiguities that remain unresolved to this day.In the absorbing fictional and nonfictional accounts of high stakes and sudden reversals of fortune found in the pages of Smith's book, the voices of canonized writers such as William Dean Howells, Herman Melville, and, of course, Mark Twain hold prominent positions. But they mingle seamlessly with lesser-known pieces such as an excerpt from Edward Willett's sensationalistic dime novel Flush Fred's Full Hand, raucous sketches by anonymous Old Southwestern humorists from the Spirit of the Times, and colourful accounts by now nearly forgotten authors such as Daniel R. Hundley and George W. Featherstonhaugh. Smith puts the twenty-eight selections in perspective with an Introduction that thoroughly explores the history and myth surrounding this endlessly fascinating American cultural icon. While the riverboat gambler may no longer ply his trade along the Mississippi, Blacklegs, Card Sharps, and Confidence Men makes clear the ways in which he still operates quite successfully in the American imagination.

Read more less

Mark Twain's visions of the Mississippi River offer some of the most indelible images in American literature: Huck and Jim floating downstream on their raft, Tom Sawyer and friends becoming pirates on Jackson's Island, the young Sam Clemens himself at the wheel of a steamboat. Through Twain's iconic river books, the Mississippi has become an imagined river as much as a real one. Yet despite the central place that Twain's river occupies in the national imaginary, until now no work has explored the shifting meaning of this crucial connection in a single volume.Thomas Ruys Smith's Deep Water: The Mississippi River in the Age of Mark Twain is the first book to provide a comprehensive narrative account of Twain's intimate and long-lasting creative engagement with the Mississippi. This expansive study traces two separate but richly intertwined stories of the river as America moved from the aftermath of the Civil War toward modernity. It follows Twain's remarkable connection to the Mississippi, from his early years on the river as a steamboat pilot, through his most significant literary statements, to his final reflections on the crooked stream that wound its way through his life and imagination. Alongside Twain's evolving relationship to the river, Deep Water details the thriving cultural life of the Mississippi in this period, from roustabouts to canoeists, from books for boys to blues songs, and highlights a diverse collection of voices each telling their own story of the river. Smith weaves together these perspectives, putting Twain and his creations in conversation with a dynamic cast of river characters who helped transform the Mississippi into a vibrant American icon.By balancing evocative cultural history with thought-provoking discussions of some of Twain's most important and beloved works, Deep Water gives readers a new sense of both the Mississippi and the remarkable writer who made the river his own.

Read more less

Author and activist Lydia Maria Child was a foundational figure in the development of American literature in the early nineteenth century. After her debut novel Hobomok (1824) challenged readers with its representation of interracial marriage, she continued to blaze literary trails for the rest of her life, developing a loyal readership as she confronted the most pressing issues in American life. She wrote novels, poems and short stories, composed housekeeping and parenting manuals, edited abolitionist newspapers and narratives -- most notably Harriet Jacobs' Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl (1861). Less well-known is that she almost single-handedly invented a new American literature for children. For decades, and particularly during her time at the helm of ground-breaking children's magazine The Juvenile Miscellany (1826-1834), Child was a constant companion for young readers across the world. For the first time, this anthology brings together a career-spanning collection of Child's writing for children which demonstrates the extraordinary richness and range of her vital work in this field. As she shaped the idea of what children's literature could be and do, Child trusted her young readers to understand difficult questions of social and racial justice, explorations of natural and national history, sentimental domestic sketches, and much more besides. Contemporary readers can now rediscover the delight that the arrival of a new issue of The Juvenile Miscellany brought to the world while grappling critically with the ongoing resonance of these questions in the twenty-first century.

Read more less

Working hard to survive in a harsh world, the Peppers still find joy and love in their little brown house - until a chance encounter with a wealthy family changes their fortunes forever. When it was first published in 1881, Margaret Sidney’s Five Little Peppers was an immediate bestseller. Its account of the five Pepper siblings’ adventures in the American Gilded Age attracted an army of young readers who clamoured for sequels well into the twentieth century. Progressive for its time in its depictions of the children’s lives, this groundbreaking edition will strike a new chord with young readers in the twenty-first century: it is the first version of the book to give readers a full introduction to the text, providing an account of Sidney’s life and times, a full description of the book’s historical and literary context, and a sense of what insights the Pepper family’s extraordinary experiences might provide for our own moment of upheaval. A must-read for all fans of American classics such as Little Women and What Katy Did.

Read more less

Susan Coolidge’s What Katy Did has captured the imaginations of readers since its first publication in 1872. A classic of American children’s literature, it tells the story of Katy Carr - twelve years old, free-spirited, perennially untidy, endearingly awkward and irrepressibly imaginative. Accompanied by her many siblings, Katy embarks on a series of playful misadventures - when she can escape the watchful eye of her fussy Aunt Izzie - until disaster strikes, and Katy has to learn a series of important lessons about life, happiness and growing up. In time for the 150th anniversary of its first publication, this is the first edition of What Katy Did to provide readers with a full introduction to the text, one which describes a context for both the challenges Katy faces in meeting the expectations of nineteenth-century young womanhood, and a consideration of her ongoing significance in the twenty-first century. A must read for fans of Little Women, this unique edition has been carefully designed to introduce a new generation to Katy and her escapades. Edited by specialists in the genre, it combines aesthetics, accessibility and academic rigour. Hilary Emmett and Thomas Ruys Smith, both based in the School of Art, Media and American Studies at the University of East Anglia, are experts in nineteenth century children's literature and the authors and editors of a variety of books including, most recently, The Oxford Handbook of Charles Brockden Brown (Emmett) and Deep Water: The Mississippi River in the Age of Mark Twain (Smith). Crucially, it has accessibility at its heart: the editors were passionate that this book should be approachable for those with visual impairments and dyslexia but without sacrificing the aesthetic beauty of the finished book for the general reader. This is a valuable edition to be treasured and handed on to future fans of Katy and her world.

Read more less

As a young horse, Black Beauty is well-loved and happy. But when his owner is forced to sell him, his life changes drastically. He has many new owners--some of them cruel and some of them kind. All he needs is someone to love him again... Whether pulling an elegant carriage or a ramshackle cab, Black Beauty tries to live as best he can. This is his amazing story, told as only he could tell it.This edition of this beloved novel features an original foreword by favourite children's author Jacqueline Wilson and an afterword by Professor Thomas Ruys Smith (University of East Anglia) which reintroduces readers to this much-loved book, examining the roots of its extraordinary longevity, the timelessness of Sewell’s powerful literary vision, and the ongoing necessity of her message of kindness and care to animals – and humans.Every copy of this edition sold will contribute directly to Redwings’ mission to value every horse and try to see the world from an equine point of view.

Read more less