Two Dreisers
Condition: SECONDHAND
This is a secondhand book. The jacket image is a photograph of the exact copy we have in stock. This image shows the condition of this book. Further condition remarks are below.
Condition remarks:
Book: Good
Jacket: Worn/faded, no tears
Pages: Good
Markings: No markings
A landmark work of literary criticism, Two Dreisers presents a rigorous and revelatory dual study of Theodore Dreiser, arguing that the author of Sister Carrie and the author of An American Tragedy are, in essential ways, two distinct artistic personalities shaped by vastly different creative processes and cultural pressures. Ellen Moers chronicles Dreiser's evolution as a writer with meticulous scholarly authority, drawing on manuscript sources, letters, and biographical detail to illuminate how each novel emerged from its own unique set of circumstances and obsessions. The tone is analytical yet deeply engaged, treating Dreiser not as a monolithic naturalist but as a complex, contradictory figure whose genius was inseparable from his contradictions. Moers illustrates how the raw, urgent energy of his early work gave way to the more architecturally ambitious and morally probing vision of his later masterpiece, offering readers a nuanced reassessment of one of American literature's most debated figures. This essential critical text remains indispensable for students and scholars of American naturalism and the literary culture of the early twentieth century.
Author: Ellen Moers
Format: Hardback
Published: 1970, Thames and Hudson
Genre: Biography
Condition remarks:
Book: Good
Jacket: Worn/faded, no tears
Pages: Good
Markings: No markings
A landmark work of literary criticism, Two Dreisers presents a rigorous and revelatory dual study of Theodore Dreiser, arguing that the author of Sister Carrie and the author of An American Tragedy are, in essential ways, two distinct artistic personalities shaped by vastly different creative processes and cultural pressures. Ellen Moers chronicles Dreiser's evolution as a writer with meticulous scholarly authority, drawing on manuscript sources, letters, and biographical detail to illuminate how each novel emerged from its own unique set of circumstances and obsessions. The tone is analytical yet deeply engaged, treating Dreiser not as a monolithic naturalist but as a complex, contradictory figure whose genius was inseparable from his contradictions. Moers illustrates how the raw, urgent energy of his early work gave way to the more architecturally ambitious and morally probing vision of his later masterpiece, offering readers a nuanced reassessment of one of American literature's most debated figures. This essential critical text remains indispensable for students and scholars of American naturalism and the literary culture of the early twentieth century.