The fall semester starts up this week (seriously, where did the summer go??), so I’m bringing you a post that is a little different than what I usually do. About a month ago I was asked to take over an American literature class that focuses on fiction from 1899/1900. This is a little out of my comfort zone, but I’m really excited to have a class full of actual English majors and read a few books that are completely new to me (I hadn’t even heard of Pauline Hopkins until now!).

I rarely read new books, so if you’re like me and enjoy some older fiction, take a look at the books below and follow along with us this semester!

TOP: The Awakening (Kate Chopin), Conjure Tales (Charles Chesnutt), Contending Forces (Pauline Hopkins) MIDDLE: The Awkward Age (Henry James), The Monster (Stephen Crane), McTeague (Frank Norris) BOTTOM: The Yellow Wallpaper (Charlotte Perkins Gilman)

Have you read any of these books or have other favorites from the end of the nineteenth century? Do you prefer a different genre or century? I’d love to hear!