The Bedford Anthology of American Literature, Volume One: Beginnings to 1865

by Susan Belasco, Linck Johnson

Here at last is an anthology that is not simply a collection of texts, but a carefully crafted tool for teaching and learning. With engaging author and selection introductions and generous gloss notes that supply the meaning of unfamiliar words, The Bedford Anthology of American Literature helps students read, appreciate, and understand American literature. The unsurpassed illustration program helps students grasp the cultural, material, and social conditions in which literary works are produced. Several innovative features supply additional contexts for the literature, while others help students reflect on why American literature is relevant and worth reading today. View the flyer.

Genres: School, Literature, Anthologies, Textbooks, History

1600 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[Christy George · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hi, my name is Christy, and I read these for fun. 😊

I especially love the essay intros that give insight into the time period, authors, and influences. I fell in love with Phyllis Wheatley and Anne Bradstreet because of this book.

[Steven Kinzler · Rating 5 out of 5]

The very early works are a bit of a slog--people clearly had a lot more patience for digression in the days before TV, but some of the later works hold up well and remain very readable.

[Katie R. · Rating 5 out of 5]

While I haven't read all of it, I read the majority of it for my American literature course at VT.

I was very tentative about the course at first because I thought we would be reading novels, not short stories and essay excerpts.

However, this anthology got me really into the course, and I really enjoyed nearly all of the assigned readings. I underlined and bracketed nearly everything! What I also liked about this anthology was the modern interpretation and the history before the readings.

I had originally been planning on selling this text after the semester, but now I am going to keep it for myself!

If you took AP Lang in high school, the course I took at VT was very similar. A lot of the readings were the same. Tally hoe!

[Tracy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the text from which I'll be teaching American Lit 1. The editors provide a great selection from which to teach--making it almost impossible to cram everything I'd like to into a semester. Supplementary materials are excellent too.

[Photina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually enjoyed most of the selections in the book. The earlier ones were harder to get through simply because of how early Americans wrote and the lack of structured spelling. But it was interesting going through the different eras and seeing how the writing changed.

[Charles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Getting ready to teach a course, using this book. It looks like a terrific new anthology.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn't read the entire thing but most of it. Not nearly as horrid as I thought, had some good things in it.