Main-Travelled Roads [Paperback]

Hamlin Garland (Author), William Dean Howells (Introduction), Joseph B. McCullough (Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 1995

Main-Travelled Roads contains eleven stories in this expanded and revised 1922 edition of an undisputed American classic. "Under the Lion's Paw" shows an honest, hard-working farmer victimized by a greedy landlord. Equally powerful is the semi-autobiographical "Up the Coolly," concerning a successful son who returns from the East to find his mother and brother trapped on a poor farm, defeated in spite of their best efforts. "Mrs. Ripley's Trip" is a tender story of an elderly couple settled in their frugal country ways, with the wife determined to realize her dream of revisiting childhood scenes.

 

Although Garland paints no pretty pictures, he offers exhilarating moments in the lives of these farm people and never ignores the strength of individual will.

 

William Dean Howells's introduction to the 1922 edition has been retained.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Was it not in Garland that American farmers first talked like farmers? Was it not Garland who among the very first dedicated his career to realism? Was it not Garland who, almost alone in the eighties, sat in the Boston Public Library writing out of his loneliness and poverty those first realistic stories that were to guide others to a new literature in America? It is true."—Alfred Kazin, On Native Grounds: An Interpretation of Modern American Prose Literature

(Alfred Kazin )

About the Author

Introducing this Bison Books edition is Joseph B. McCullough, the author of Hamlin Garland and coeditor of Selected Letters of Hamlin Garland, also published by the University of Nebraska Press. He is a professor of English at the University of Nevada.

Product Details

• Paperback: 247 pages
• Publisher: Bison Books (November 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0803270585
• ISBN-13: 978-0803270589
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #456,683 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The best of American Realism. Short stories full of heart., November 2, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Main-Travelled Roads (Paperback)

Hamlin captures the essence of American Realism. The vividly painted scenes full of grit and labor keep this book moving. The characters are solid and provide the reader with a painfully honest view of life and love at the turn of the century. A necessary book for any decent collection of American Realism. Escape into the main traveled roads of humanity!

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A piece of American Naturalism, January 31, 2001

By 

Nathan Astin "I want to write my words on the... (Sudbury, VT) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Main-Travelled Roads (Paperback)

Garland is an expert at capturing local color. This collection of short stories shows the brutal reality of farm and rural life in the Midwest. His characters are thrown around in the cruel world and have no real way of escaping. His women characters are strong and hold their own in world dominated by hard working men. This book shows how it was like to live in the West one hundred years ago.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A piece of American Naturalism, January 31, 2001

By 

Nathan Astin "I want to write my words on the... (Sudbury, VT) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Main-Travelled Roads (Paperback)

Garland captures the American West as it was at the end of the 19th Century. This collection of shorts stories is a slice of life in rural America. Garland is a true local colorist who portrays real, hard working farmers and the struggle to survive in the harsh landscape of the Midwest. Who is a true Naturalist who shows the brutal reality of American life and the lack of control people had on the conditions of their lives. These stories take you into the hardships of the countryfolk of one hundred years ago.