Introduction


Stephen Crane
Even though Stephen Crane attended both Lafayette College and Syracuse University, he never actually earned a degree in his short life. He started off as a journalist and free-lance writer but soon turned to writing his own novels. His most famous work, the Civil War-inspired The Red Badge of Courage, has been read by millions and lauded as one of the great American novels. Although Crane never served in battle himself, he studied extensively and interviewed many war veterans before writing Courage. In 1897, he was shipped to Cuba on a writing assignment and was shipwrecked near Florida. While there, he met his future wife, and together they served as war correspondents in the Greco-Turkish War of 1897. Crane ultimately used the experience to write Active Service, one of his last novels.

Essential Facts

  1. Crane published his first novel, Maggie: A Girl of the Streets, with money borrowed from his brother. He published it under the pen name Johnston Smith. The bleak story of prostitution did not prove a commercial or critical success at the time.
  2. Crane’s wife, Cora Stewart-Taylor, owned a brothel in Jacksonville, Florida, called Hotel de Dream. She was also a writer.
  3. Stephen Crane is considered the first naturalistic American writer. As a literary theory, naturalism draws on scientific ideas (such as Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution) and applies them to fiction.
  4. Crane cited the American press’ ridicule of his first collection of poetry, The Black Rider and Other Lines, as one of the main reasons he moved to England with Cora in 1897.
  5. The cover of the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album features a small picture of Stephen Crane, along with many other celebrities.
 

Recommended Resources

  1. Stephen Crane - Critical Survey of Long Fiction
  2. Stephen Crane - Dictionary of World Biography: The 19th Century
  3. The Red Badge of Courage eText
  4. The Red Badge of Courage Lesson Plans
  5. The Red Badge of Courage Study Guide (eNotes)

All Resources

Display as: Categories, List
  1. Critical Survey of Poetry
  2. Critical Survey of Short Fiction
  3. Cyclopedia of World Authors
  4. Do not weep, maiden, for war is kind - Masterplots II: Poetry
  5. Maggie: A Girl of the Streets Study Guide
  6. Naturalism Study Guide (eNotes)
  7. Naturalistic Long Fiction (Critical Survey of Long Fiction)
  8. Red Badge of Courage - Identities and Issues in Literature
  9. Stephen Crane - Critical Survey of Long Fiction
  10. Stephen Crane - Dictionary of World Biography: The 19th Century
  11. Stephen Crane - Short Story Criticism
  12. The Black Riders - Masterplots
  13. The Blue Hotel - Book Review
  14. The Blue Hotel - Masterplots II: Short Story Series
  15. The Blue Hotel quickNotes
  16. The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky - Book Review
  17. The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky - Masterplots II: Short Story Series
  18. The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky quickNotes
  19. The Double Life of Stephen Crane
  20. The Open Boad Study Guide
  21. The Open Boat - Book Review
  22. The Open Boat - Masterplots II: Short Story Series
  23. The Open Boat - Short Story Criticism
  24. The Oxford Companion to American Literature Article on Maggie: A Girl of the Streets
  25. The Oxford Companion to American Literature Article on Stephen Crane
  26. The Oxford Companion to English Literature Article on Stephen Crane
  27. The Red Badge of Courage (1951)
  28. The Red Badge of Courage - Book Review
  29. The Red Badge of Courage - Censorship
  30. The Red Badge of Courage - Literary Characters
  31. The Red Badge of Courage - Literary Places
  32. The Red Badge of Courage - Masterplots
  33. The Red Badge of Courage - Movie Learning Guide
  34. The Red Badge of Courage eText
  35. The Red Badge of Courage Lesson Plans
  36. The Red Badge of Courage Study Guide (eNotes)
  37. War Is Kind Study Guide