History of American Literature on Film

Thomas Leitch is Professor of English at the University of Delaware, USA. His most recent books are Wikipedia U: Knowledge, Authority, and Liberal Education in the Digital Age (2014) and The Oxford Handbook of Adaptation Studies (2017).

• AcknowledgementsIntroduction: American Cinema and American LiteraturesChapter 1. 1895–1915: The Attraction of AdaptationChapter 2. 1915–1927: American ExoticsChapter 3. 1927–1939: Novel ImpressionsChapter 4. 1939–1951: Invisible AdaptationChapter 5. 1951–1967: Weaponized BestsellersChapter 6. 1967–1975: Counterculture ClassicsChapter 7. 1975–1989: Screening the SilencedChapter 8. 1989–2007: Adapt or DieChapter 9.2007–2018: Entertainment for MeBibliographyIndex

A thrilling story of the history of American literature on screen, from Hollywood’s inception to the present, The History of American Literature on Film demonstrates Hollywood’s diverse and fraught relation to American literary traditions. A boon to film, literature, adaptation, and media scholars, the book provides a history of Hollywood film, as well as a valuable analysis of the variegated and multiple “scripts” that provoke and serve as sources for film adaptations. Focused on distinct themes, yet wide-ranging and full of important insights about American film, literary, and media cultures, this exhilarating book is as informative as it is deeply pleasurable to read.