Includes bibliographical references and index.

Chapter1. The first Americans: American literature during the colonial and revolutionary periods -- Chapter2. Inventing Americas: the making of American literature 1800-1865 -- Chapter3. Reconstructing the past, reimagining the future: the development of American literature 1865-1900 -- Chapter4. Making it new: the emergence of modern American literature 1900-1945 -- Chapter5. Negotiating the American century: American literature since 1945.

Written in an informed and accessible by one of the leading authorities in the field, A Brief History of American Literature offers students and general readers alike a concise and thoroughly up-to-date history of the American literary tradition.