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Tales of Soldiers and Civilians And Other Stories

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SKU:
1111
Condition:
Very Good
Format:
Paperback, 274 pages
Publisher:
Penguin Books, 2000
Edition:
First Penguin Classics Edition, First Printing
Questing after Pancho Villa's revolutionary forces, Ambrose Bierce rode into Mexico in 1913 and completely vanished from the face of the earth. Though his ultimate fate remains a mystery to this day, Bierce's contribution to American letters rests firmly on the basis of his incomparable Devil's Dictionary and a remarkable body of short fiction. This new collection gathers some three dozen of Bierce's finest stories, including the celebrated Civil War fictions "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" and "Chickamauga"; his macabre masterpieces "The Damned Thing" and "Moxon's Master; and his hilariously horrific "Oil of Dog" and "My Favorite Murder." Tom Quirk, the volume's editor, provides a fascinating introductory essay, as well as indispensable explanatory notes, a glosary of military terms, and a catalog of Civil War battle sites and leaders.

Ambrose Bierce's Tales of Soldiers and Civilians and Other Stories brings together some of the American writer's finest short fiction, combining Civil War stories, supernatural horror, macabre humor, and dark satire. The collection includes the celebrated “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” and “Chickamauga,” along with such unsettling stories as “The Damned Thing,” “Moxon's Master,” “My Favorite Murder,” and “Oil of Dog.” Bierce's fiction is marked by its sardonic wit, psychological intensity, abrupt turns, and fascination with death, violence, and the uncanny. This 2000 Penguin Classics edition is edited by Tom Quirk, who provides an introduction, explanatory notes, a glossary of military terms, and a guide to Civil War battle sites and leaders.

About the Author

Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce (1842-1914) was an American editorialist, journalist, short story writer, fabulist and satirist. Today, he is best known for his short story, An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge and his satirical lexicon, The Devil's Dictionary. The sardonic view of human nature that informed his work – along with his vehemence as a critic, with his motto "nothing matters" – earned him the nickname "Bitter Bierce."  Despite his reputation as a searing critic, however, Bierce was known to encourage younger writers, including poet George Sterling and fiction writer W. C. Morrow. Bierce employed a distinctive style of writing, especially in his stories. This style often embraces an abrupt beginning, dark imagery, vague references to time, limited descriptions, the theme of war, and impossible events.  Bierce disappeared in December 1913. He is believed to have traveled to Mexico to gain a firsthand perspective on that country's ongoing revolution.

Tom Quirk is the Catherine Paine Middlebush Professor of English at the University of Missouri-Columbia. He is the editor of the Penguin Classics editions of Mark Twain's Tales, Speeches, Essays, and Sketches (1994) and Ambrose Bierce's Tales of Soldiers and Civilians and Other Stories (2000) and co-editor of The Portable American Realism Reader (1997). His other books include Coming to Grips with Huckleberry Finn (1993), Mark Twain: A Study of the Short Fiction (1997) and Nothing Abstract: Investigations in the American Literary Imagination (2001).