Reviews

"Fisher makes striking observations about the cultural function of literature....[His] readings are based on a deep knowledge of literary and social theory, and he manages to make the theory his own. The result is a form of historical criticism that reformulates familiar subjects (the wilderness, the homestead, the city) so as to raise a wholly new set of questions."--Western Humanities Review
"The study of American fiction of the 19th century has long been a business of reclamation.... Fisher's fascinating extension of this campaign in his treatment of Cooper and Stowe draws partly on previous pioneering efforts like Leslie A. Fiedler's Love and Death in the American Novel and Leo Marx's The Machine in the Garden, and in its probing at the guilty root of the national culture it deserves to be placed alongside them, as classic
American criticism."--Times Literary Supplement
"A key text for anyone interested in theories of the novel, the nature of American fiction, or the dynamics of cultural history."-Library Journal
"An essential book for all readers of the American novel."--Antioch Review
"Bound to become required reading for anyone interested in American fiction and its relation to American culture."--Modern Language Review
"Fisher makes striking observations about the cultural function of literature....[His] readings are based on a deep knowledge of literary and social theory, and he manages to make the theory his own. The result is a form of historical criticism that reformulates familiar subjects (the wilderness, the homestead, the city) so as to raise a wholly new set of questions."--Western Humanities Review
"The study of American fiction of the 19th century has long been a business of reclamation.... Fisher's fascinating extension of this campaign in his treatment of Cooper and Stowe draws partly on previous pioneering efforts like Leslie A. Fiedler's Love and Death in the American Novel and Leo Marx's The Machine in the Garden, and in its probing at the guilty root of the national culture it deserves to be placed alongside them, as classic
American criticism."--Times Literary Supplement
"A key text for anyone interested in theories of the novel, the nature of American fiction, or the dynamics of cultural history."-Library Journal
"An essential book for all readers of the American novel."--Antioch Review
"Bound to become required reading for anyone interested in American fiction and its relation to American culture."--Modern Language Review
"Fisher argues persuasively for the importance of three frequently maligned American writers."--Studies in the Novel
"A real addition to our discipline."--E.N. Feltskog, University of Wisconsin
"A brilliant contribution."--Sacvan Bercovitz, Harvard University
"An original and brilliant work."--Eric Sundquist, University of California, Berkeley
"An appraisal at once perceptive and appreciative of three popular novelists who have not always received critical acclaim, this study will reward the reader interested in 19th and 20th century literature and culture."--Choice