Chronology of World, British and American Literature
Henry James. American/British. 1901. Novel. The Sacred Fount. Narrator’s theory: in unequal marriages or liaisons, older, weaker partner is replenished; younger, stronger personality becomes depleted.
Louis Couperus. Dutch. 1901. Novel. The Book of Small Souls. Van Lowe family, large and diverse group, with little in common but pleasing Granny Lowe.
Anton Chekhov. Russian. 1901. Play. The Three Sisters. Dull existence in small provincial garrison town. One drab day to the next. Diversions with officers and dream of going to Moscow keep the sisters going. When regiment leaves, the sisters are left as they were. Frustrated by their attempts to escape this way of life.
Selma Lagerlof. Swedish. 1901/1902. Stories. Jerusalem. Relationship of family to farm, sold to pay for a trip to Jerusalem.
Chronology of World, British and American Literature.
Joseph Conrad. British. 1900. Novel. Lord Jim. Lifelong effort to atone for an act of instinctive cowardice. Wandering outcast. Betrayed by whites who kill Jim’s best friend, the son of an old chief. Jim gives himself up to tribal justice and regains honor as he loses his life.
Mark Twain. American. 1900. Story. “The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg.” Comic story with grim ending. People abandon their integrity to gain a treasure that turns out to be lead.
Theodore Dreiser. American. 1900. Novel. Sister Carrie. Innocent country girl exposed to the impersonal cruelty of Chicago in the 1890s. Rescued first by a traveling salesman. Then a wealthy married man embezzles funds and takes her to New York. As her star rises,his sinks. He commits suicide, a destitute Bowery bum.
Henrik Ibsen. Norwegian. 1900. Play. When We Dead Awaken. Artist had feared to love because he thought it would interfere with his art. Meets again the model for his masterpiece. She says they have both been dead for many years. To regain the spirit of life, they go up into the mountains and are swallowed up in a storm. Spiritual death is the price of denying love.
Stephen Crane. American. 1900. Stories. Whilomville Stories. Thirteen stories set in a town thought to be Port Jervis, New York. Realistic, unsentimental sketches of childhood. Less nostalgic than most stories about childhood.
Chronology of World, British and American Literature
Jose Enrique Rodo. Spanish. 1900. Essay. “Ariel.” Aspire to spirituality, idealism, rationality symbolized by Shakespeare’s Ariel (Tempest).
Joachim MachadodeAssis. Brazil. 1900. Novel. Dom Casmurro. “Mr. Peevish.” Middle class lawyer reflects on his adolescence and his youthful romance.
Gabriele D’Annunzio. Italian. 1900. Novel. The Flame of Life. Passion consumes and destroys both lovers. Based on novelist’s affair with Eleanora Duse.
Anton Chekhov. Russian. 1900. Story. “In the Ravine.” Brutal lives of the peasantry in a small provincial town.
Arthur Schnitzler. German. 1900. Novel. LeutnantGustl. Early experiment in the stream of consciousness. Mind of conceited officer who must decide between suicide or resignation for lost honor. Satire on the military honor code.
Chronology of World, British and American Literature.
Rudyard Kipling. British. 1899. Stories. Stalkey and Co. Pranks and adventures of three schoolboys.
Stephen Crane. American. 1899. Story. “The Blue Hotel.” Swede in the West expects violence, provokes it and is killed. Universe that cares not for man’s fate.
George Bernard Shaw. British. 1899. Play. Caesar and Cleopatra. Wise, unsentimental Caesar. Cleo is a “giddy teenager.” Caesar amused by Cleo, history and himself.
Chronology of World, British and American Literature.
Stephen Crane. American. 1899. Poetry. War is Kind. Good example of dramatic irony used by Crane in both poetry and prose.
George Ade. American. 1899. Sketches. Fables in Slang. Humorous tales illustrate the common sense of ordinary people. Rendering of contemporary American speech.
Gerhart Hauptmann. German. 1899. Play. DraymanHenschel. Man who promised to be faithful to his late wife is trapped into marriage, bullied and commits suicide.
Winston Churchill. American. 1899. Novel. Richard Carvel. One of the most popular novels ever written about the American Revolution.
Frank Norris. American. 1899. Novel. McTeague. Phony dentist kills wife and the man who has informed on his lack of credentials. However, he is handcuffed to the corpse in the desert and dies of thirst.
Chronology of World, British and American Literature.
Stephen Crane. American. 1898. Story. “The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky.” Gunfighter faces a sheriff who has no gun. Realizes that the old days are over.
H.G. Wells. British. 1898. SciFi. The War of the Worlds. Invasion of England by Martians. Radio dramatization caused panic in 1938 in the U.S.
Gabriele D’Annunzio. Italian. 1898. Play. La Gioconda. Models for brilliant sculptor. He leaves his wife for her, believing that she is the real inspiration for his art.
Emile Zola. French. 1898. Letter. “J’accuse” (“I Accuse”). Open letter to the president of France denouncing the Dreyfus affair.
Oscar Wilde. British. 1898. Poetry. “The Ballad of Reading Gaol.” Story of a man condemned to die, based on the author’s experiences in prison.
