The Damnation of Harold Frederic: His Lives and Works

The Damnation of Harold Frederic is a finely honed work of literary criticism. Bennett examines how Frederic both directly and indirectly manipulated his own personal experiences to craft his literary pieces. (His life involved two families: one with his wife, and one with a lover, who eventually was tried for manslaughter in his sensational death.) Her book provides a critical reading of The Damnation of Theron Ware, as well as a close look at his oeuvre, including his final novel, The Market-Place, a pioneering work that paved the way for works of socioeconomic commentary such as Dreiser's Trilogy of Desire and Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. Drawing on material previously unavailable to scholars, Bennett engages readers in exploring how an author's private life and public works intersect.