Set against the backdrop of a fictional 1890s town, Sherwood Andersons Winesburg, Ohio depicts the not-so-simple lives of its residents as seen through the eyes of George Willard, a young and observant resident.
The text of this Norton Critical Edition is that of the first book edition, published in 1919, and includes Harald Toksvigs original map of the fictional Winesburg. Ample annotation is provided throughout.Backgrounds includes five of Andersons letters, which illustrate his ideas about the stories; memoirs in which he wrestles with the revision process; and eight reviews of Winesburg, Ohio by Andersons contemporaries, among them H. L. Mencken and William Faulkner.
Criticism collects six of the most illuminating assessments of the book published in the last three decades. A variety of perspectives is provided by Walter B. Rideout, Sally Adair Rigsbee, John Updike, Joseph Dewey, Kim Townsend, and David Stouck.
A Chronology and Selected Bibliography are included.
