Cliff Dwellers: A Novel [Paperback]

Henry B. Fuller (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1968

Henry Blake Fuller (January 9, 1857 ? 1929) was an American novelist and short story writer, born in Chicago, Illinois.

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Broadview has done it again. Joseph Dimuro's expertly assembled edition of Henry Blake Fuller's The Cliff-Dwellers places this important novel one of the first representations of the modern American city in a set of productive and provocative historical, literary, visual, and socio-cultural contexts. Dimuro's introduction and carefully selected appendices connect Fuller and his text with contemporary currents in literary realism, turn-of-the-century Chicago, urban history, and skyscraper architecture, while the novel itself offers a tumultuous look into the lives and longings of the residents of the new American metropolis." (William Gleason )

"The Cliff-Dwellers is a master work of Chicago and American urban realism. Henry Blake Fuller had no equal in understanding the complex human dynamics of the transformations that accompanied the creation of modern city life, including the vague but vivid hopes these changes inspired and the confusion and disappointments they inflicted. The novel is a brilliant realization of the social life and mentality of this place and time. This edition, with the deeply insightful commentary Joseph Dimuro offers and the wonderful array of contextual materials he assembles, at last gives this classic the attention and framework it deserves." (Carl Smith ) --Carl Smith --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

From the Back Cover

The Cliff-Dwellers was the first American realist novel to use the rapidly developing city of Chicago as its setting. Henry Blake Fuller's depiction of social climbing and human depravity among the "cliff-dwelling" residents and workers in the new Chicago skyscrapers shocked readers of the time, and influenced many American writers that followed. With its frenetic pace and many interrelated stories, it remains a compelling document of Chicago's social history, as well as a searing indictment of modern American life at the close of the nineteenth century. The extensive appendices to this edition include Fuller's literary criticism and his correspondence about the novel, reviews, and visual and historical materials on turn-of-the-century Chicago and literary realism. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Irvington Pub (June 1968)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 089197699X
• ISBN-13: 978-0891976998
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,359,668 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The novel is good; the typography of this edition isn't, January 4, 2009

By 

praesagitio (Pacific Northwest) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The cliff-dwellers (Rinehart editions, 155)

The Cliff-Dwellers is a classic, but you may want to think twice about this edition. For some reason best known to the book's designer, all the paragraphs begin with flush-right instead of indented left paragraphs. It's very distracting, and, combined with the Ariel sans serif typeface, makes the book more of a chore to read.

I bought this edition but actually have had to switch to the Google Books version because the design choices are so annoying.

That said, the book is a fine picture of turn-of-the-century urban Chicago life (the "cliffs" are the skyscrapers in which Chicago residents live).