Four Classic American Novels: The Scarlet Letter, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Red Badge Of Courage, Billy Budd

by Sandra Newman (Introduction), Nathaniel Hawthorne, Stephen Crane

Shining examples of American literature at its best, these four novels explore timeless themes—adventure, war, sex, and morality—through compelling narratives. An adulteress, a runaway boy, a terrified soldier, and a maltreated sailor—the heroes of these novels have become a part of popular culture. This indispensable volume includes…

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane
Billy Budd by Herman Melville

With an Introduction by Sandra Newman

Genres: Fiction, Classics, Literature, American

752 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published April 1, 1969

Reviews

[Nicholas Whyte]

http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/1192910.html[return][return]I guess I was just not in the mood for this. I found the archaic language tedious, the moral dilemmas artificial and not very interesting, and the portrayal of Puritan society unrealistic; I also was repelled by the author's lengthy autobiographical digression about working in the custom-house at the start. Well, one more nineteenth-century classic that I will never have to pick up again...

[Melissa]

I have only read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and I liked it. The large amount of racism in the book is hard to swallow and I am sure I would have enjoyed it more if I was a kid but other than that it is a nice adventure story. I will say the language is a bit tough to get through since the author writes the word the way the characters would have pronounced them.

[Caitlyn]

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne (1992)

[Amber]

Still trudging through the classics.

[Jack]

only read Scarlet letter and Huck Finn