Secret histories : a new era in Constance Fenimore Woolson scholarship / edited by Kathleen Diffley, Caroline Gebhard, and Cheryl B. Torsney ; foreword by Anne Boyd Rioux.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Diffley, Kathleen Elizabeth, 1950- editor.

Gebhard, Caroline, editor.

Torsney, Cheryl B., editor.

Rioux, Anne Boyd, writer of foreword.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Woolson, Constance Fenimore, 1840-1894--Criticism and interpretation.

Woolson, Constance Fenimore.

Genre:

Literary criticism.

Essays.

Physical Description:

xviii, 235 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm

Other Title:

New era in Constance Fenimore Woolson scholarship

Place of Publication:

Athens, Georgia : The University of Georgia Press, [2025]

Summary:

"From the Great Lakes to the defeated South and across storied Europe to the Mediterranean, the eighteen essays in this volume explore Woolson's prodigious range as the whole of her professional life comes alive in the volume's triptych. The first section, "A Writer's Experiments," reveals that Woolson's play with genres and casts began during the 1870s and extended until she died in 1894. Consistently, she tested the limits on representing women's labors as well as their erotic appeal. The second section, "Postbellum Souths," follows Woolson's travels through a land ravaged by war and injustice. Drawing upon theories of travel, collective memory, the Lost Cause, religious controversy, and a race-bound region, these essays expose both the smugness of visitors and the agendas of residents that Woolson was among the first postwar writers to portray. The third section, "Through an International Lens," considers expatriate perceptions of European and Mediterranean cultures as well as misconceptions about the Gilded Age U.S. Here and throughout this collection, travel sketches mingle with fiction and poetry, while encounters with the writing of other Americans on the move demonstrate how often Woolson made her century's literary terrain more subtle and complex"-- Provided by publisher.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780820369839

0820369837

9780820369846

0820369845

OCLC:

1463679519