Download or read book The Cambridge History of American Literature: Volume 2, Prose Writing 1820-1865 written by Sacvan Bercovitch and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 1995-01-27 with total page 944 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The narratives in this volume make for a four-fold perspective on literature: social, cultural, intellectual, and aesthetic; they constitute a basic reassessment of American prose-writing between 1820 and 1865. These narratives place the American literature in an international context, while never losing sight of its distinctive American characteristics, whether colonial, provincial, or national. Together, they offer a compelling and comprehensive revision of the literary importance of early American history and the historical value of early American literature.