1,001 Novels: A Library of America
Maggie: A Girls of the Streets (1893)
by Stephen Crane
The Bowery, New York
New York: 56/105
Manhattan: 12/34
This is Stephen Crane's first mention on this blog! He was omitted from the 1,001 Books to Read Before You Die List...which... wasn't a surprise exactly, the fact that many schoolchildren for many decades read The Red Badge of Courage in Junior High presumably didn't mean much to the UK based editorship of the 1,001 Books to Read Before You Die project. Maggie is generally an early example of American Realism- if you listen to the Audiobook as I did the "Youse guys" accents will evoke mirthful memories of the Little Rascals. Practically all the dialogue is screamed by the various characters- much of Maggie reminded me of watching a Harold Pinter play: People with working class accents driving one another insane.
I loved the 19th century American dialect- a decent reason to go back and look at other American books from this period in Audiobook format. I felt back for Maggie- her Mother and Brother really treat her poorly for no reason. I wish there were more books from the 19th century in the 1,001 Novels: A Library of America.
After the survivor dies,
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