Stephen
Crane, the son of a Methodist minister,
was born in New Jersey in 1871. He became a journalist and worked
for the New York Tribune and
the New York Herald. His first
novel, Maggie: A Girl of the Streets,
was published in 1893.
Crane was greatly influenced by the work of Hamlin
Garland. In his book Crumbling Idols
(1894), Garland put forward the theory of realistic fiction, which
he called veritism. Crane later wrote that: "The realist or veritist
is really an optimist, a dreamer. He sees life in terms of what it
might be, as well as in terms of what it is; but he writes of what
is, and, at his best, suggests what is to be."
Crane's second book, The Red Badge of Courage
(1895), a novel about the American Civil
War, was a critical and popular success. This was followed by
a book of short-stories on the war, The Little
Regiment (1896). A book about
New York working class life, George's
Mother, was published in 1896 and The
Third Violet, a short novel about a young artist, appeared
in 1897. Crane's experiences of being shipwrecked appeared in The
Open Boat and Other Stories (1898).
Crane continued to work as a journalist and worked as a war correspondent
in Mexico, Cuba and Greece. A novel, Active
Service (1899), was based on his experiences during the
Graeco-Turkish War.
Stephen Crane died of tuberculosis
at the age of 29 in 1900. Posthumous publications include a book of
poetry, War is Kind, stories from
his life as a correspondent, Wounds in the
Rain, and Whilomville Stories,
about childhood in a small town.
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