This collection investigates the evolution and stylistic diversity of American prose writing during the pivotal period between 1841 and 1900. Wallace Stegner, a prominent novelist and historian of the American West, curates this selection to demonstrate the shift from romanticism to realism in national letters. By organizing these primary texts, he provides a framework for understanding how American authors established a distinct literary voice separate from European traditions. The volume serves as a pedagogical tool for examining the thematic concerns of the nineteenth-century American experience.

Scholars and educators frequently cite this anthology as a useful, albeit dated, survey of the American literary canon during the nineteenth century. Readers note that the editorial commentary reflects the critical standards of the mid-twentieth century, providing a specific historical lens on how these texts were interpreted at the time of publication.