Understanding Alice Adams

"An excellent book in this important series! Bryant Mangum has produced a thoughtful, well-written, comprehensive study of the writings and career of Alice Adams, an accomplished writer who is overdue for attention and who has much to say to contemporary readers."—James L. W. West III, Pennsylvania State University

"Bryant Mangum offers a transformative and indispensable study of the short stories and novels of Alice Adams."—Carol Sklenicka, author of Raymond Carver: A Writer's Life

"More than any critic yet, Mangum introduces readers to the full range of Adams's work, giving us a broader picture of an author we only thought we knew."—Kirk Curnutt, Troy University

"With deep insight and understanding, Bryant Mangum illuminates Alice Adams's indelible portrayals of talented women . . . Mangum's clear-eyed exploration of Adams's prolific four-decade career argues convincingly for her inclusion in the pantheon of great American writers."—Kate Drowne, Missouri University of Science and Technology

"Bryant Mangum offers an insightful study of Alice Adams that captures her significant contribution to American letters. He deftly demonstrates her portrayal of the conflicting desires of American women as they wrestled with their sense of obligation to traditional gender roles and their catalyzed longing for freedom, independence, and lives of their own. This book makes the case for why we need to keep reading Alice Adams."—Suzanne del Gizzo, Chestnut Hill College