During the early 1930s, after James Gould Cozzens had published four romantic novels and then withdrawn them from circulation, he wrote the first three of what Brenden Gill called his eight "canonical works." But it was only after the publication of By Love Possessed in 1957 that he achieved wide popularity. Mooney closely examines each of Cozzens' novels, isolating and defining his main themes and addressing the critical acclaim and condemnation of his works.Among the novels Mooney analyzes are: S.S. San Pedro, Castaway, The Last Adam, Men and Brethren, Ask Me Tomorrow, The Just and the Unjust, Guard of Honor, and By Love Possessed.

Drawing on diaries, notebooks, letters, and accounts from those who knew James Gould Cozzens, the author presents a biography of an American author whom he considers to be one of the major novelists of the twentieth century.

Praise for the print edition:" ... no other reference work on American fiction brings together such an array of authors and texts as this.

Major Characters in American Fiction is the perfect companion for everyone who loves literature--students, book-group members, and serious readers at every level. Developed at Columbia University's Center for American Culture Studies, Major Characters in American Fiction offers in-depth essays on the "lives" of more than 1,500 characters, figures as varied in ethnicity, class, sexual orientation, age, and experience as we are. Inhabiting fictional works written from 1790 to 1991, the characters are presented in biographical essays that tell each one's life story. They are drawn from novels and short stories that represent ever era, genre, and style of American fiction writing--Natty Bumppo of The Leatherstocking Tales, Celie of The Color Purple, and everyone in between.

In this new edition, what was already an expansive work has been updated and further enlarged to include information not only on American and British novelists but also on writers in English from around the world.

Combines a historical survey of the American novel of manners with concentrated attention on the major practitioners of the genre: James, Howells, Wharton, Glasgow, Marquand, and Auchincloss.

This collection, marking the author's seventy-fifth birthday, contains Ask Me Tomorrow, selections from six of his major novels, three short stories, and several essays