William Faulkner

William Faulkner is one of the most important American writers of the twentieth century, yet success was elusive when he published his first novel, Soldiers' Pay, in 1926. Capturing the post–World War I atmosphere of the Lost Generation on American soil, Faulkner explores the war's emotional impact on three weary veterans and their Southern hometown in Georgia. Experimental narrative techniques blended with literary modernism set the foundation...

Joe Christmas does not know whether he is black or white. Faulkner makes of Joe's tragedy a powerful indictment of racism; at the same time Joe's life is a study of the divided self and becomes a symbol of 20th century man. Light in August is the story of Lena Grove's search for the father of her unborn child, and features one of Faulkner's most memorable characters: Joe Christmas, a desperate drifter consumed by his mixed ancestry.

First published in 1929 by Harcourt, Brace and Company, New York, now public domain in the US and Canada, William Faulkner's ''Sartoris'' portrays the decay of the Mississippi aristocracy following the social upheaval of the American Civil War. It also deals with the decay of an aristocratic southern family just after the end of World War I. The novel begins with the return of young Bayard Sartoris from the First World War. Bayard and his twin brother...

Faulkner's prolific publication history began at the age of 16 with poems and sketches for the Ole Miss campus newspaper, The Mississippian. The author continued to contribute to the publication throughout his student days at the university as well as after dropping out. These early works of poetry and prose reflect his gift for keen observations and the growing refinement of his voice as one of the greatest of America's Southern authors. Eighteen...

Thomas Sutpen stammt aus einer armen weißen Familie, heiratet auf Haiti die reiche Eulalia Bon und taucht 1833 plötzlich mit einem Haufen schwarzer Sklaven in Jefferson auf, wo er ein Herrenhaus errichtet und ein zweites Mal heiratet. Er hat aus dieser Ehe zwei Kinder, Judith und Henry, aber er hat auch einen Sohn aus der ersten Ehe, Charles Bon, der sich ahnungslos in Judith verliebt. Nach Ende des Bürgerkriegs, der die Liebenden für eine Weile...

Lena Grove's resolute search for the father of her unborn child begets a rich, poignant, and ultimately hopeful story of perseverance in the face of mortality. It also acquaints us with several unforgettable characters, including the Reverend Gail Hightower, who is plagued by visions of Confederate horsemen, and Joe Christmas, a ragged, itinerant soul obsessed with his mixed-race ancestry.

This magisterial collection of short works by Nobel Prize-winning author William Faulkner reminds readers of his ability to compress his epic vision into narratives as hard and wounding as bullets. Among the 42 selections in this book are such classics as "A Bear Hunt, " "A Rose for Emily, " Two Soldiers, " and "The Brooch."