Reimagining Realism: A New Anthology of Late Nineteenth- and Early Twentieth-Century American Short Fiction

Reimagining Realism is an ambitious and impressive reassessment of the American literary landscape that emerged over the six turbulent decades that witnessed such pivotal events in U.S. history as Lincoln's signing of the Emancipation Proclamation, the end of the Civil War, the completion of the first transcontinental railroad, women's suffrage, and World War I. Throughout this meticulously edited collection, Johanningsmeier and McCarthy challenge the traditional paradigm of American realism with the inclusion of forty-nine works of short fiction that illuminate the cultural changes of the time, beginning with Louisa May Alcott's “Hospital Sketches: A Day” (1863) and ending with Theodore Dreiser's “Free” (1918). The editors’ selections are intended to rectify “the many shortcomings evident in the . . . anthologies of American literature, and specifically American Realism” and to question existing boundaries and assumptions that have heretofore defined the period. They have admirably succeeded in doing so.While most of the mainstream anthologies published since 1990 have attempted to be more inclusive by incorporating works by Black American, Indigenous, Asian American and Latinx authors, the literary offerings have changed very little in recent decades. The editors rightly assert that students often encounter the same tired texts in multiple courses. They have endeavored, therefore, to include stories “rarely acknowledged but richly deserving of recognition and further study” by renowned authors. For example, Mark Twain's oft-anthologized tale, “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” has been replaced by “The Facts Concerning the Recent Carnival of Crime in Connecticut.” Other supersessions from mainstream anthologies include Charles W. Chesnutt's “The March of Progress” for “The Goophered Grapevine,” Mary Wilkins Freeman's “One Good Time” for “A New England Nun,” W. D. Howells’ “A Romance of Real Life” for “Editha,” Sui Sin Far's “Sweet Sin. A Chinese-American Story” for “Mrs. Spring Fragrance,” and Charlotte Perkins Gilman's “Mrs. Beazley's Deeds” for “The Yellow Wall-Paper.” The editors have also resurrected works by authors who were during their day highly regarded but have since fallen into obscurity: Kate Cleary, Lafcadio Hearn, Samuel Post Davis, Hannah Lloyd Neall, and Elia Peattie among them. Several sentimental and romantic tales, long dismissed by contemporary critics for their excessive pathos or melodramatic content, are included as well. The result is a comprehensive collection of stories that reflect the complexity of a nation confronting political and cultural upheaval: Reconstruction, civil rights for Black Americans and Indigenous people, immigration, industrialization and urbanization, and social justice.It is also worth noting that during a time when the U.S. government is implementing DEI initiatives that revise or erase, among other things, American literary history, the editors have taken pains to ensure that “students better understand the pervasive racism, ethnocentrism, and sexism of the era” in order to preserve their “right to know the truth about the American past.” Reimagining Realism is a fresh, inspiring, and exciting anthology that offers instructors and students a superbly diverse range of stories reflecting the broad cultural complexities of American realism.