Chapter 2 - Fiction

Summary

This chapter surveys novels and short stories that illustrate Americans’ complex response to the First World War from 1914 through the 1930s. Registering conflicting views, ultimately this fiction presents a war that resists easy categorization. Fiction by military veterans, medical professionals, and home-front eyewitnesses is represented – including canonical authors such as Ernest Hemingway, Willa Cather, and Katherine Anne Porter; lesser-known writers such as Thomas Boyd, Victor Daly, and Mary Borden whose work has recently been republished; and authors of now out-of-print fiction such as James Stevens, Mary Lee, and Elliot White Springs who deserve greater recognition. A summary of recent literary criticism denotes trends in critical approaches and demonstrates that scholars are re-examining canonical novels and taking an increasing interest in short stories meant for both literary and popular audiences.