Books published by University of South Carolina Press

Tracy Letts has emerged as one of the greatest playwrights of the twenty-first century. Understanding Tracy Letts, the first book dedicated to his writing, is an introduction to his plays and an invitation to engage more deeply with his work - both for its emotional power and cultural commentary.

Every four years presidential hopefuls and the media travel the primary election circuit through Iowa and New Hampshire. Only then does the focus shift to South Carolina. H. Gibbs Knotts and Jordan Ragusa make the case for shifting the national focus to South Carolina because of its often-predictive role in selecting presidential nominees.

Examines the vital role music collections played in the lives of elite women of Charleston, South Carolina, in the years leading up to the Civil War. Candace Bailey has studied a substantial archive of music held at several southern libraries to gain a better understanding of musical culture, instruction, private performance, and cultural tourism.

An illuminating study of an award-winning writer who captured the complex challenges twentieth-century women faced in their struggle for independence. In Understanding Alice Adams, Bryant Mangum examines the thematic intricacies and astute social commentary of Adams's eleven novels and five short story collections.

Since the early 1980s, Jim Grimsley has received increasing acclaim for his achievements in a variety of dramatic and literary genres. David Deutsch offers the first book-length study of Grimsley's diverse work and argues for his vital role in shaping the contemporary queer American literary scene.

Hope, sacrifice, and restoration: throughout the American Civil War and its aftermath, the Foster family endured all of these in no small measure. Drawing from dozens of public and privately owned letters, A. Gibert Kennedy recounts the story of his great-great-grandfather and his family in A South Carolina Upcountry Saga.

Continuing the theme of unexplored moments introduced in Recovering the Piedmont Past: Unexplored Moments in Nineteenth-Century Upcountry South Carolina History, Timothy P. Grady joins with Andrew H. Myers to edit this second anthology that uncovers the microhistory of this northwest region of the state.