Horatio Alger
New-Englander, wrote juvenile fiction. believed that a poor boy could achieve success and wealth through virtue, honesty, hard-work, and bravery; said that there is always room at the top
Walt Whitman
poet, wrote “O Captain! My Captain” and “When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d” about Lincoln’s assasination
Emily Dickinson
poet, 2,000 lyric poems discovered after death, Massachusetts recluse
Kate Chopin
daring feminist author, wrote about suicide, adultery, and women’s ambitions in The Awakening, largely ignored in her day,
Mark Twain
journalist, humorist, satirist, foe of social injustice; wrote satire on post-civil war politicians called The Gilded Age, gave a name to the era. created a new breed of American authors
Stephen Crane
wrote about his life in urban, industrial America; wrote The Red Badge of Courage about a Civil War recruit; wrote entirely from reading civil war records, never saw a battle
Henry Adams
grandson of John Quincy Adams and great-grandson of John Adams; historian, novelist, critic
Henry James
went from law to literature; wrote The Bostonians about the rising feminist movement, his books had strong central female characters,