Catharine Sedgwick, Redwood: A Tale

Jenifer Elmore is Professor and Chair of English at Palm Beach Atlantic University. Her publications include “Sedgwick and Edgeworth: A Transatlantic Tale of Emulation, Flattery, and Rivalry,” Symbiosis: A Journal of Transatlantic Studies,” Spring 2018 and “Reversing the Curse”: Slavery, Child Abuse, and Huckleberry Finn,” (with C. Dale Girardi), American Literary Realism, Fall 2016.

• AcknowledgementsEditor’s IntroductionSelected BibliographyNote on the TextChronology of Sedgwick’s Life and WorksCast of CharactersRedwood: A TaleAppendix A: Sedgwick’s Preface to the 1850 editionAppendix B: Significant Revisions for the 1850 editionExplanatory Notes

Today’s readers can now take pleasure in Redwood, the novel in which Sedgwick dismantles gender conventions that call for female deference and dependence and installs in their stead heroines who are independent actors. We are indebted to Jenifer Elmore’s splendid introduction that not only situates Redwood in its larger historical context, but also highlights the novel’s significance in transatlantic literary culture.