# A Book of Prefaces

By H. L. Mencken.

"A Book of Prefaces" by H. L. Mencken is a collection of essays published in 1917. This provocative work attacks American culture, literary movements, and Puritan influences on American letters. Mencken devotes essays to Theodore Dreiser, Joseph Conrad, and James Gibbons Huneker before unleashing his most controversial piece on Puritanism as a stifling literary force. The book sparked outrage among academics and defenders of American culture, yet inspired future writers like Richard Wright and marked a turning point in Mencken's career as America's most fearless cultural critic. (Summary by Project Gutenberg, written by machine.)

- Language: English
- Subjects: American literature -- History and criticism; Conrad, Joseph, 1857-1924 -- Criticism and interpretation; Dreiser, Theodore, 1871-1945 -- Criticism and interpretation; Huneker, James, 1857-1921 -- Criticism and interpretation

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From Project Gutenberg. Public domain in the United States.