Main-Travelled Roads collects 11 short stories, originally published in 1891, set in Wisconsin, Iowa, and Minnesota, or what Hamlin Garland called the “Middle Border.†Depicting an agrarian life of exploitation, misogyny, and poverty, Garland's radical, realist stories refute romantic conceptions of the rural Midwest. Unrelenting yet strangely hopeful in its view of how things ought to be, this collection is gripping, hard-hitting, and surprisingly...

"A landmark in the history of African-American fiction, this gripping 1901 novel was among the first literary challenges to racial stereotypes. Its tragic history of two families unfolds against the backdrop of the post-Reconstruction South and climaxes with a race riot based on an actual 1898 incident. One of America's first great African-American novelists, Charles W. Chesnutt (1858-1932) exposed the harsh dimensions of Southern prejudice before...

The Girls is Edna Ferber's first novel to depict multiple generations, a theme that would reemerge in much of her work. In the book, she tells the story of the Thrift women-a great aunt, a niece, and a grand niece-who live on Chicago's South Side. Published in 1921, the book was written with Ferber's characteristic flair for depicting determined women making their way in the world.

A new collection from a trailblazing writer of science fiction. Part of Belt's Revival Series and with an introduction by Brad Ricca. Science fiction has historically been seen as a man's game, but from the very beginni

The true story of Marshall ‚ÄúMajor‚Ä Taylor, who overcame racial prejudice to become one of the most dominant cyclists in history. Part of Belt‚Äs Revival series and with an introduction by Zito Madu. The Fastest Bicycle Rider in the World, which Taylor self-published in 1928, gives a riveting first-person account of his rise to the highest echelons of professional cycling. Born in Indianapolis, he eventually became the first African American...