Stephen Crane (1871-1900) was an author and journalist. Crane is best known for his novel The Red Badge of Courage.
Life[]
Childhood[]
Born in Newark, New Jersey in November of 1871, Crane was the fourteenth and final child of Jonathan Townley Crane, a Methodist minister and Mary Helen Peck Crane (both ardent abolitionists). When Stephen was eight years old his father died. Most of Crane's religious fervour "cooled off" at the age of thirteen.
Stephen's schooling was dire. He bounced between colleges, with a mediocre (at best) academic record. Despite this, Stephen's schooling was not a complete failure. He excelled in sport (most notably baseball) and the student military battalion.
Adulthood[]
At the age of twenty, Stephen left the town of Syracuse. During this time, his mother died. For four years after this, Stephen lived a meager life, with most of his money coming from loans from friends along with his journalistic and storytelling work. During this time, Stephen wrote his first few novels (including his first novel, Maggie).
During this time, Stephen wrote The Red Badge of Courage. It was this novel that thrust him into the public eye and gave him stardom. This stardom ended when Stephen was (possibly falsely) arrested for hiring a prostitute and sued the arresting officer.
Immediately after this, Stephen became a war correspondent. He travelled to battefields in Cuba, Mexico, and Greece - with his experiences in Cuba comprising the basis for his short story The Open Boat. While in Cuba, Stephen met his long-time lover Cora Taylor.
After his time as a war correspondent, Stephen retired to England and died in 1900 in a German health spa after a long battle with poor health.
Writing style[]
Stephen Crane is best known for his Realist/Impressionist writing style. (At least within The Red Badge of Courage), Crane frequently uses similes and metaphors. Colors play a significant role in descriptions.
rest to be added
Notable works[]
- The Black Riders and Other Lines
- War is Kind and Other Lines
Novels[]
- Maggie
- The Red Badge of Courage
- George's Mother
- The Third Violet
- Active Service
- The O'Ruddy (finished by Robert Barr)
Short story collections[]
- The Little Regiment and Other Episodes from the American Civil War
- The Open Boat and Other Tales of Adventure
- The Monster and Other Short Stories
- Whilomville Stories
- Wounds in the Rain
- Great Battles of the World
- The Monster
- Last Words
Works on Stephen Crane[]
- Burning Boy by Paul Auster
Sources[]
- Wikipedia
- Sherwood Cummings' introduction to the Scholastic edition of The Red Badge of Courage