A Companion to American Fiction, 1865-1914 is a groundbreaking collection of essays written by leading critics for a wide audience of scholars, students, and interested general readers. It is an exceptionally broad-ranging and accessible companion to the study of American fiction of the post-civil war period and the early twentieth century. It brings together 29 essays by top scholars, each of which presents a synthesis of the best research and offers an original perspective. It is divided into sections on historical traditions and genres, contexts and themes, and major authors. It covers a mixture of canonical and the non-canonical themes, authors, literatures, and critical approaches. It explores innovative topics, such as ecological literature and ecocriticism, children’s literature, and the influence of Darwin on fiction.