Maggie: A Girl of the Streets by Stephen Crane

Crane, now in his teens, rebelled against his strict upbringing, and was sent to military school.  After high school, he attended college for a year and then dropped out.  He moved to New York City, where he began his career as a newspaper journalist.  He learned much about big city life and his explorations of the Bowery gave him material for his first novel, Maggie: A Girl of the Streets, published in 1893.  Because of the book's controversial subject matter, he had to print it privately.  It was not a commercial success but did receive several favorable reviews, including one from the noted author, William Dean Howells. 

Crane continued to write and, in 1896, published his most famous work, The Red Badge of Courage This novel was critically acclaimed, and led to international fame.  However, his defense of a New York prostitute who had been harassed by the police led to trouble with the authorities, and he fled to Florida to report on the Cuban insurrection against Spain.  In Florida he met the madam of a brothel, Cora Taylor, with whom he lived for the rest of his short life.  He continued to seek adventure by reporting on conflicts in Greece and the Spanish American War.  He lived his last years in England, feverishly writing articles, stories and poems to keep his creditors at bay.  He died of tuberculosis in Germany, where Cora had taken him in search of a cure, on June 5, 1900 before he reached the age of thirty.  During the next twenty years his work was almost forgotten.  In 1923 Thomas Beer published a biography of Crane which once more brought him to public attention, and his reputation has steadily increased since.

For More Information:

REF PN 41.D5, vols.12, 54, 78 - Dictionary of Literary Biography

DLB is a multi-volume work which provides detailed biographical sketches of the authors' literary writings as well as general critical commentary. 

REF PS 129.A55, vol. 1 -  American Writers

This collection of literary biographies provides information about the lives, careers and works of American writers

REF PS 21.M34, vol. 2 -  Magill's Survey of American Literature

Discussion of Stephen Crane's contributions and achievements in literature.

REF PS 21.H3  - Oxford Companion to American Literature

One page summary of the author's life and literary significance

PS 1449.C85 Z982 -  The Crane Log

This book, a part of the American Authors Log Series, is a biography of Stephen Crane 

 

• Maggie - a girl from the Bowery, the slums of New York City
• Jimmie - her brother
• Pete - Jimmie's friend and Maggie's lover
• The Mother

SUBJECTS TO CONSIDER

BOOKS CONTAINING CRITICISMS

Use the Library Catalog to locate books in the Lone Star College System. Enter the author's name, Stephen Crane, in the subject keyword box.

REF PN 771.G27  Twentieth Century Literary Criticism (Vols: 11, 17, 32)

TCLC contains excerpts from critical essays in books and journals.  Use these volumes to 1) select a topic or theme 2) find the full articles or essay in the library, and 3) locate other articles and books from the "Further Reading" section.

REF PN 523.W67   Vol. 2.  World Literature Criticism

A broad selection of the best criticism of works by major writers

REF PR 85.C76  Vol. 10. The New Moulton's Library of Literary Criticism

An analysis of the author's writing style as well as a copy of the criticism by William Dean Howells

REF PN 3451.C7  Vol. 2.  Critical Survey of Long Fiction : Authors

The essay on Stephen Crane gives his principal works, his achievements, a short biography, and an analysis of the novel.

PS 1449.C85.M3  Maggie: A Girl of the Streets : A Norton Critical Edition

Backgrounds and sources, reviews and criticism as well as the text of the novel

The captains of industry such as John Pierpont Morgan  held the power.  The industrial revolution was bringing major changes.  Railroads now crisscrossed the nation, moving manufactured goods and raw materials to and from the major port cities.  Labor issues such as workplace safety, the eight-hour day, and the right to organize were the principles expounded by such labor leaders as Eugene Debs.  The increasing diversity of its citizens and the desire by the newcomers to have their piece of the "American pie" led to social and cultural upheaval.  The largely Protestant, rural, Anglo-Saxon culture was being displaced.  The resultant cultural shock caused feelings of uncertainty and anxiety among the citizens.  The country was remaking itself, changing its values, reassessing its long-held notions of democracy and equality, and becoming a society that gauged personal worth by money and possessions.  "The Gilded Age" accurately describes the America of the 1880's and 1890's. Stephen Crane's realistic, ironic, and iconoclastic writings come out of this environment. 

REF E 165.M5 -  The Writer's Guide to Everyday Life in the 1800's

A topical dictionary of information on everyday life in the 1800s 

REF E 169.1.A47194 1878-99, Vol. 6 - American Eras

A detailed history of the years from 1878 to 1899

REF HN 57.E58 -  Encyclopedia of American Social History

This three volume reference work has a number of essays on the social issues of the Gilded Age

E 168.G48 -  Age of Excess: the United States from 1877 to 1914

Discusses American culture during this period 

HD8066.W47 Vol. 2. - Who Built America?

Includes information about the Gilded Age working people and their culture

HV 4046.N6.R58 - How the Other Half Lives

This work, written in 1890, describes slum conditions in New York City

PS 88.H6 -  Backgrounds of American Literary Thought

An excellent chapter on literary naturalism

JSTOR Arts & Sciences Search or browse the complete back issues for over 200 journals in literature, economics, history, social sciences, science and mathematics. The most current issue available is determined by publisher agreements and varies. Search for more recent articles in Project MUSE.

ProjectMuse Begin your search by entering the title of the novel in the search box.  Click the Modify Search button to add keywords from your thesis - click on the + mark to add search boxes.  This database is full text (complete articles) and entirely scholarly, so all articles will be of the appropriate academic level for your research.

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Bloom's Literary Reference Online This database is a collection of many analytical essays discussing literature. These essays, originally published in print form, are accessible now for research online. Find information about Maggie: a Girl of the Streets, or read about Stephen Crane's life and entire body of work.

The full text of Maggie: A Girl of the Streets is available in Ebook Collection, a collection of electronic books. "Create a Free account" in EBSCO to save book titles and notes on books you read. 

"How the Other Half Lives: the New York slums"  This short video clip about the New York tenements at the turn of the century is from the database Films on Demand. Danish immigrant Jacob Riis exposes the hellish living conditions of New York slums through the new technology of flash photography. His efforts result in tenements being torn down and other reforms. It is part of a longer video titled Cities: America - the story of us.