| Mercy Otis Warren Contributor(s): Richards, Jeffrey H. (Author) |
|
 |
ISBN: 0805740031 ISBN-13: 9780805740035 Publisher: Twayne Publishers OUR PRICE: $47.52 Product Type: Hardcover - Other Formats Published: July 1995 Annotation: Mercy Otis Warren was a descendant of Mayflower Pilgrims, a witness to the American Revolution, a participant in the debates that gave shape to the new nation. She was a patriot and a passionate believer in democracy. She was the mother of five sons, an equal partner in a marriage of 54 years, a loyal and demanding friend. But given the perspective of time, writes Jeffrey Richards in this exhaustive study of her life and complete work, she was above all a writer, one of the most important of her generation. Both political activist and historian, Warren sought through her writing to influence the course of events in her own time and to record them for posterity. Among the first playwrights - and perhaps the first woman playwright - in America, Warren used her plays as a public forum for unabashed promotion of the Revolutionary cause. In such dramas as The Adulateur, The Defeat, and The Group, she skewered Loyalists to the British crown and elevated the self-sacrificing patriot. Not only in her essays and her formidable History of the Rise, Progress and Termination of the American Revolution but even in personal letters did Warren express herself as a historian. Her consistently serious and responsible tone suggests the image of Warren as "Republican Mother", caretaker of the new republic, writing not just to husband or friend or son but to future generations of Americans. Basing his analysis on extensive archival research, Richards corrects many errors of fact in previous Warren scholarship, particularly in her biography and in the attribution of several plays to her authorship. These new findings make this volume valuable to the experienced scholar, while the broad coverage of Warren'swork and the provision of literary and historical context make it accessible to students. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Literary Criticism | American - General - Literary Criticism | Women Authors - Literary Criticism | Children's & Young Adult Literature |
| Dewey: 818.109 |
| LCCN: 94049327 |
| Series: Twayne's United States Authors |
| Physical Information: 0.86" H x 5.83" W x 8.8" (0.93 lbs) 195 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Twaynes United States Authors Series presents concise critical introductions to great writers and their works. Devoted to critical interpretation and discussion of an authors work, each study takes account of major literary trends and important scholarly contributions and provides new critical insights with an original point of view. An Authors Series volumeaddresses readers ranging from advanced high school students to university professors. The book suggests to the informed reader new ways of considering a writers work. A reader new to the work under examination will, after reading theAuthors Series, be compelled to turn to the originals, bringing to the reading a basic knowledge and fresh critical perspectives. Each volume features:
|