“As Saunders makes clear at the outset, her aim is to offer ‘an
accessible introduction to Darwinian literary critical methodology in tandem
with new insights into acknowledged classics’ (x). This is precisely what she
does with admirable clarity and grace. To assist readers not familiar with
Darwinian methodology, Saunders provides a succinct glossary of essential terms
that matches up nicely with the general approach she spells out in her brief,
well-focused introduction. … Teachers seeking to shake up predictable
discussions of classic works will find Saunders’s interpretations immensely
useful and entertaining. This is not to suggest that Saunders is not a serious
scholar whose work contributes to literary scholarship. Quite the contrary, her
essays are carefully researched, articulate additions to American literary naturalism
that offer important insights into the evolutionary forces that inform literary
texts. … Readers will find American Classics: Evolutionary Perspectives
every bit as thought provoking as it is delightful.” —Paul Crumbley, Utah State
University, Studies in American Naturalism Vol. 13, No. 2
~Paul Crumbley, Studies in American Naturalism
“American Classics: Evolutionary Perspectives is a
very interesting and discerning study, cogently argued, well-written, propelled
by Saunders’s knowledge of theory and research in evolutionary biology,
post-Darwin. She has made a noteworthy contribution to evolutionary criticism,
and, more, generally, to our understanding of American literary and cultural
history. American Classics also has important—and
controversial—implications for scholarship and teaching. … In American
Classics, Saunders sets out, with special skill and distinction, an array of
textual interpretations, close readings of American authors, a detailed series
of model case studies that are stimulating and persuasive. She convinces me
that her approach can make familiar literary texts feel new, reanimating them,
impelling us to peruse and ponder them in a new light. … I look forward to the
next stage of her research, and to the new directions in the field of
evolutionary literary criticism that she is expertly helping to chart and
explore.” —William E. Cain, Evolutionary Studies in Imaginative Culture,
Vol. 3, No. 1
~William E. Cain, Evolutionary Studies in Imaginative Culture