A Truce, and Other Stories
Encyclopedia
A Truce, and Other Stories is a collection of six short stories by Mary Tappan Wright
. It was first published in hardcover
by Charles Scribner's Sons
in 1895 and was reprinted by Fleabonnet Press, in November, 2008. The stories had previously been published in Scribner's Magazine
between 1890 and 1894.
This collection was the author's first published book. She went on to publish four novels and over a dozen additional short stories over the course of her writing career, though none of her other short stories were collected into book form during her lifetime.
, "To call this volume a collection of dramatic fragments or episodes would be nearer the truth than to style these vistas of life, stories. In sculpture they resemble the torso, in music a song sometimes begun, but never ended. ... But it is this very dramatic and fragmentary form which gives her character-studies their peculiar force and charm. There is a blending of realism and romance, of comedy and tragedy, of smiles and tears which makes havoc with the reader's emotions. It is especially in her power to discern the tragedy of the commonplace, and the pleasure she takes in reducing us to a strange despair at the sorry spectacle of a relentless, ironic nemesis playing fast and loose about us, that she fascinates and holds our interest whether we will or no. Even in her humour there is a touch of impatience and sternness. We discern in her the severity and tragic fire of the Greek spirit refined and softened as it mingles with the gentleness of the woman."
Mary Tappan Wright
Mary Tappan Wright was an American novelist and short story writer best known for her acute characterizations and depictions of academic life...
. It was first published in hardcover
Hardcover
A hardcover, hardback or hardbound is a book bound with rigid protective covers...
by Charles Scribner's Sons
Charles Scribner's Sons
Charles Scribner's Sons, or simply Scribner, is an American publisher based in New York City, known for publishing a number of American authors including Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Kurt Vonnegut, Stephen King, Robert A. Heinlein, Thomas Wolfe, George Santayana, John Clellon...
in 1895 and was reprinted by Fleabonnet Press, in November, 2008. The stories had previously been published in Scribner's Magazine
Scribner's Magazine
Scribner's Magazine was an American periodical published by the publishing house of Charles Scribner's Sons from January 1887 to May 1939. Scribner's Magazine was the second magazine out of the "Scribner's" firm, after the publication of Scribner's Monthly...
between 1890 and 1894.
This collection was the author's first published book. She went on to publish four novels and over a dozen additional short stories over the course of her writing career, though none of her other short stories were collected into book form during her lifetime.
Contents
- "A Truce" (http://cdl.library.cornell.edu/cgi-bin/moa/pageviewer?frames=1&coll=moa&view=50&root=%2Fmoa%2Fscri%2Fscri0009%2F&tif=00039.TIF&cite=http%3A%2F%2Fcdl.library.cornell.edu%2Fcgi-bin%2Fmoa%2Fmoa-cgi%3Fnotisid%3DAFR7379-0009-5Making of AmericaMaking of AmericaMaking of America is a digital archive hosted by Cornell University and the University of Michigan. The Making of America collection at the University of Michigan consists primarily of books published in the United States between 1850 and 1877. The Making of America collection at Cornell contains...
e-text]) - "As Haggards of the Rock" (http://cdl.library.cornell.edu/cgi-bin/moa/pageviewer?frames=1&coll=moa&view=50&root=%2Fmoa%2Fscri%2Fscri0007%2F&tif=00564.TIF&cite=http%3A%2F%2Fcdl.library.cornell.edu%2Fcgi-bin%2Fmoa%2Fmoa-cgi%3Fnotisid%3DAFR7379-0007-56Making of AmericaMaking of AmericaMaking of America is a digital archive hosted by Cornell University and the University of Michigan. The Making of America collection at the University of Michigan consists primarily of books published in the United States between 1850 and 1877. The Making of America collection at Cornell contains...
e-text]) - "A Portion of the Tempest" (http://cdl.library.cornell.edu/cgi-bin/moa/pageviewer?frames=1&coll=moa&view=50&root=%2Fmoa%2Fscri%2Fscri0015%2F&tif=00720.TIF&cite=http%3A%2F%2Fcdl.library.cornell.edu%2Fcgi-bin%2Fmoa%2Fmoa-cgi%3Fnotisid%3DAFR7379-0015-86Making of AmericaMaking of AmericaMaking of America is a digital archive hosted by Cornell University and the University of Michigan. The Making of America collection at the University of Michigan consists primarily of books published in the United States between 1850 and 1877. The Making of America collection at Cornell contains...
e-text]) - "From Macedonia" (http://cdl.library.cornell.edu/cgi-bin/moa/pageviewer?frames=1&coll=moa&view=50&root=%2Fmoa%2Fscri%2Fscri0016%2F&tif=00518.TIF&cite=http%3A%2F%2Fcdl.library.cornell.edu%2Fcgi-bin%2Fmoa%2Fmoa-cgi%3Fnotisid%3DAFR7379-0016-57Making of AmericaMaking of AmericaMaking of America is a digital archive hosted by Cornell University and the University of Michigan. The Making of America collection at the University of Michigan consists primarily of books published in the United States between 1850 and 1877. The Making of America collection at Cornell contains...
e-text]) - "Deep as First Love" (http://cdl.library.cornell.edu/cgi-bin/moa/pageviewer?frames=1&coll=moa&view=50&root=%2Fmoa%2Fscri%2Fscri0015%2F&tif=00226.TIF&cite=http%3A%2F%2Fcdl.library.cornell.edu%2Fcgi-bin%2Fmoa%2Fmoa-cgi%3Fnotisid%3DAFR7379-0015-27Making of AmericaMaking of AmericaMaking of America is a digital archive hosted by Cornell University and the University of Michigan. The Making of America collection at the University of Michigan consists primarily of books published in the United States between 1850 and 1877. The Making of America collection at Cornell contains...
e-text]) - "A Fragment of a Play, with a Chorus" (http://cdl.library.cornell.edu/cgi-bin/moa/pageviewer?frames=1&coll=moa&view=50&root=%2Fmoa%2Fscri%2Fscri0009%2F&tif=00613.TIF&cite=http%3A%2F%2Fcdl.library.cornell.edu%2Fcgi-bin%2Fmoa%2Fmoa-cgi%3Fnotisid%3DAFR7379-0009-68Making of AmericaMaking of AmericaMaking of America is a digital archive hosted by Cornell University and the University of Michigan. The Making of America collection at the University of Michigan consists primarily of books published in the United States between 1850 and 1877. The Making of America collection at Cornell contains...
e-text])
Reception
According to its review in The BookmanThe Bookman (New York)
The Bookman was a literary journal established in 1895 by Dodd, Mead and Company. It drew its name from the phrase, "I am a Bookman," by James Russell Lowell; the phrase regularly appeared on the cover and title page of the bound edition. It was purchased in 1918 by the George H. Doran Company. In...
, "To call this volume a collection of dramatic fragments or episodes would be nearer the truth than to style these vistas of life, stories. In sculpture they resemble the torso, in music a song sometimes begun, but never ended. ... But it is this very dramatic and fragmentary form which gives her character-studies their peculiar force and charm. There is a blending of realism and romance, of comedy and tragedy, of smiles and tears which makes havoc with the reader's emotions. It is especially in her power to discern the tragedy of the commonplace, and the pleasure she takes in reducing us to a strange despair at the sorry spectacle of a relentless, ironic nemesis playing fast and loose about us, that she fascinates and holds our interest whether we will or no. Even in her humour there is a touch of impatience and sternness. We discern in her the severity and tragic fire of the Greek spirit refined and softened as it mingles with the gentleness of the woman."
External links
- e-text of the collection.
- "A Truce, and Other Stories" - an 1895 review in The BookmanThe Bookman (New York)The Bookman was a literary journal established in 1895 by Dodd, Mead and Company. It drew its name from the phrase, "I am a Bookman," by James Russell Lowell; the phrase regularly appeared on the cover and title page of the bound edition. It was purchased in 1918 by the George H. Doran Company. In...
, v. 1, pp. 347-348.