Dreiser enthusiast and scholar Michael Lydon is the author of two new books on Dreiser that have not had wide distribution, but which are well worth reading:
On Reading Theodore Dreiser’s The Bulwark
Patrick Press, 2011
Theodore Dreiser, Anna Tatum, & The Bulwark: The Making of a Masterpiece
Franklin Street Press, 2017
*****************************************************
On Reading Theodore Dreiser’s The Bulwark is essentially an appréciation of Dreiser’s final novel.
Theodore Dreiser, Anna Tatum, and The Bulwark: The Making of a Masterpiece explores new aspects behind the composition of Dreiser’s final novel, which Dreiser worked on for years before it was finally published posthumously. Key findings of Lydon include material on Anna Tatum and her family, providing for a deeper understanding of the Quaker sources underlying the novel.
Anna Tatum was a brilliant young woman from a Quaker family in New Jersey who was one of Dreiser’s many mistresses. She told Dreiser stories about growing up in a Quaker home and community, and these inspired him to write The Bulwark. Lydon’s book length essay combines a sensitive analysis of the novel’s literary excellence and a narrative of the tangled story of Dreiser’s and Tatum’s on again, off again affair. Using newly discovered source material, it delves into how Tatum’s Quaker roots influenced the creation of The Bulwark.
*****************************************************
The books are available for purchase by going to the publisher’s website
franklinstpress.com
and scrolling down through the “bookstore” link (at bottom of page) and, then, scrolling through the “bookstore” (hit “next page” to the desired books on Dreiser). Use “Add to Cart” button to purchase.
Payment is by PayPal. Buyers not using PayPal can click on the “contact” button at the top of the page and purchase the book by phone or mail, enclosing a check.
*****************************************************
See also:
Michael Lydon, “Justice to Theodore Dreiser”
Michael Lydon, “Justice to Theodore Dreiser”
— posted by Roger W. Smith
June 2018
Roger W. Smith's Theodore Dreiser site 