Two Men (Legacies of Nineteenth-Century American Women Writers) - Softcover

Stoddard, Elizabeth

Softcover

ISBN 10: 080329347X ISBN 13: 9780803293472

Publisher: University of Nebraska Press, 2008

Synopsis

We first meet Jason Auster when he climbs out of a stagecoach in a New England maritime town and, as it were, salutes destiny. A twenty-year-old house carpenter who has come adventuring, Jason hopes to “put in practice certain theories concerning the rights of men and property which had already made him a pest at home.” And, indeed, theory and practice, destiny and self-determination are all following quite different paths as this antebellum story of love and power, incest and family honor, and sexual bonds and intractable conflicts between races and classes plays out against the backdrop of a nation—and a world—divided.

 

First published in 1865, this novel tracks the fortunes of Jason and his unlikely bride, the aristocratic Sarah Parke, along with the children and wards, the lost loves and secret passions that define and forever alter an entire family and everyone who touches it. Uniquely located within the romantic, realist, and regional traditions, this oddly unsentimental tale illuminates the racial, sexual, and political conventions and conflicts of its time even as it offers an unusual and compelling perspective on the historical moment it reflects.

About this title

About the Author

Elizabeth Stoddard (1823–1902) was the author of three novels, including The Morgesons and Temple House, as well as short fiction, poetry, and newspaper editorials.

 

Jennifer Putzi is an assistant professor in the Department of English and Women’s Studies Program at the College of William and Mary. She is the author of Identifying Marks: The Marked Body in Nineteenth-Century American Literature.

Edition details

• Publisher: University of Nebraska Press
• Publication date: 2008
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 080329347X
• ISBN 13: 9780803293472
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 338
• Editor: Putzi Jennifer