Love and Death in the American Novel

by Leslie Fiedler · 1960

Leslie A. Fiedler's 'Love and Death in the American Novel' is a seminal work of literary criticism that examines American fiction from its origins through the 1960s. Fiedler argues that the American novel is fundamentally gothic, characterized by a profound terror of sexuality and an obsession with violence, escape, and death. He posits that American writers confront a landscape lacking a substantial history, instead grappling with unique guilts related to the exploitation of nature and marginalized peoples. Written with a provocative, voice-driven style, the book functions as both a critical study and a 'gothic novel' in its own right, exploring the American imagination through the works of authors such as Edgar Allan Poe, Herman Melville, Mark Twain, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and William Faulkner.