Eight perennially popular novels appear regularly on American Literature courses. In this new edition of his acclaimed book, the author applies important theoretical approaches, including Genette, Barthes, Bakhtin and Reader Response criticism, to these key novels. Ideal for students new to narrative theory, this second edition is thoroughly updated in the light of recent developments in the field. Featured novels: Henry James: The Portrait of a Lady, Mark Twain: Huckleberry Finn, Edith Wharton: The House of Mirth, Willa Cather: A Lost Lady, F. Scott Fitzgerald: The Great Gatsby, Ernest Hemingway: The Sun Also Rises; William Faulkner: The Sound and the Fury, Zora Neale Hurston: Their Eyes Were Watching God.