Books by William Gilmore Simms

Francis Marion became known as the "Swamp Fox" for his gutsy guerilla warfare conducted against the British during the American Revolution. Marion's knowledge of the woods and swamps of South Carolina were used as a weapon against the hapless Colonel Tarleton, who had been tasked with rooting out Marion's forces; it was Tarleton who is credited with giving Marion his nickname. Marion dogged the British throughout the war, earning himself an enduring legacy within the country he helped found. America's special forces, such as the Rangers and Green Berets, trace their heritage back to men like Marion and the tactics he employed. While some accounts of Marion's life and deeds were exaggerated, this edition, written by William Gilmore Simms in 1844, is regarded by modern historians as generally accurate.

The idea of "the great American novel" continues to thrive almost as vigorously as in its nineteenth-century heyday, defying 150 years of attempts to dismiss it as amateurish or obsolete. In this landmark book, the first in many years to take in the whole sweep of national fiction, Lawrence Buell reanimates this supposedly antiquated idea, demonstrating that its history is a key to the dynamics of national literature and national identity itself. The dream of the G.A.N., as Henry James nicknamed it, crystallized soon after the Civil War. In fresh, in-depth readings of selected contenders from the 1850s onward in conversation with hundreds of other novels, Buell delineates four "scripts" for G.A.N. candidates. One, illustrated by The Scarlet Letter, is the adaptation of the novel's story-line by later writers, often in ways that are contrary to the original author's own design. Other aspirants, including The Great Gatsby and Invisible Man, engage the American Dream of remarkable transformation from humble origins. A third script, seen in Uncle Tom's Cabin and Beloved, is the family saga that grapples with racial and other social divisions. Finally, mega-novels from Moby-Dick to Gravity's Rainbow feature assemblages of characters who dramatize in microcosm the promise and pitfalls of democracy. The canvas of the great American novel is in constant motion, reflecting revolutions in fictional fashion, the changing face of authorship, and the inseparability of high culture from popular. As Buell reveals, the elusive G.A.N. showcases the myth of the United States as a nation perpetually under construction.