Books, Arts & Manners: ‘The Fathers’ Remembered

After some 45 years, it is all the more curious that we have not yet fully recognized an authentic masterpiece in the American fiction of this century. It is not necessary to narrow the category and to specify, in this instance, a masterpiece in the fiction of the antebellum South and the ensuing Civil War. Allen Tate’s The Fathers (1938) is simply superb enough to stand on its own as one of the notable peaks in the full range of the American novel.

There are any number of reasons why a great work of literature may not be recognized in its own time. These reasons have chiefly to do with such obvious factors as the effectiveness of general marketing, distribution, and publicity; they have also to do with such subtle imponderables as timing and the public taste.

TM

About the Author

Thomas P. McDonnell

Featured Tags

After some 45 years, it is all the more curious that we have not yet fully recognized an authentic masterpiece in the American fiction of this century. It is not necessary to narrow the category and to specify, in this instance, a masterpiece in the fiction of the antebellum South and the ensuing Civil War. Allen Tate’s The Fathers (1938) is simply superb enough to stand on its own as one of the notable peaks in the full range of the American novel.

There are any number of reasons why a great work of literature may not be recognized in its own time. These reasons have chiefly to do with such obvious factors as the effectiveness of general marketing, distribution, and publicity; they have also to do with such subtle imponderables as timing and the public taste.