Choice Specimens of American Literature, and Literary Reader Being Selections from the Chief American Writers — Themes and Context

The Editor's Criteria and Omissions

Martin's preface is unusually candid about what he left out. Some writers were dropped 'not always as less deserving a place, but sometimes as having less adaptation to the purposes of the book.' The purposes are implicitly didactic: passages must be coherent enough to stand alone and representative enough to illustrate an author's characteristic voice. The editor also acknowledges the difficulty of keeping up with 'the rapid development of literary effort'—a problem that makes the anthology a snapshot of 1874 tastes.

He thanks librarians at the Society, Mercantile, and Astor libraries for access to collected works. This reliance on primary sources, rather than on earlier manuals, gives the anthology a fresher texture than its predecessors. Readers should note that the selections are not neutral; they reflect Martin's judgment of what was 'standard' and worth preserving.

Biographical Headnotes as Mini-Essays

Each author entry begins with a compact biography. For example, Richard Henry Wilde (1789–1847) is introduced with a note that his life 'excites a more profound and melancholy interest than that of Torquato Tasso.' The headnote then sketches Tasso's misfortunes—'exile even in his boyhood,' 'imputed madness,' 'tedious imprisonment'—in a style that blends literary criticism with pathos. These headnotes are not mere dates; they frame the excerpt that follows.

Similarly, the entry for George Ticknor (1791–1871) opens with a discussion of Cervantes' intention in Don Quixote, arguing against a 'metaphysical' reading that reduces the novel to a satire of heroism. Ticknor insists that Cervantes' 'whole spirit' was one of 'cheerful confidence in human virtue.' The headnote thus primes the reader to interpret the excerpt as a corrective to overly cynical interpretations.

Extended Passages and Their Effect

Unlike many earlier anthologies that offered only brief snippets, Martin's second edition prints 'more extended and coherent passages.' The excerpt from an unnamed work about Baron von Steuben, for instance, runs several paragraphs and includes concrete details: the baron 'was up at day-break if not before,' took coffee and smoked while his servant dressed his hair, and 'by sunrise he was in the saddle.' The passage shows his tactical adaptability—'instead of adhering with bigotry to the systems of Europe'—and his effect on the army, which 'began to operate, like a great machine.'

This length allows readers to observe an author's narrative voice, pacing, and use of specific detail. The Steuben excerpt is not merely a character sketch but a miniature essay on leadership and organizational reform. Martin's selection favors passages that can teach both content and style.

Geographic and Chronological Range

Martin explicitly aimed to represent 'the Southern and Western portions of our country,' which he felt were 'too often overlooked in our manuals.' He acknowledges that these writers may lack 'mere grace of style' but are 'apt to be original and vigorous.' The anthology thus includes authors from regions that were still considered peripheral to the New England literary establishment.

The chronological span runs from early figures like Franklin and Jefferson through mid-nineteenth-century writers such as Lowell and Emerson. Martin updates dates and biographical information to the latest period, making the volume a reference tool as well as a reader. The arrangement by author, with headnotes and dates, encourages a historical approach: readers can trace shifts in style and subject matter from the Revolutionary era to the post-Civil War period.

This anthology rewards a sequential reading, but it also works as a reference for dipping into individual authors. Pay attention to the headnotes: they reveal what a nineteenth-century educator thought worth knowing about each writer. The excerpts are long enough to convey voice but short enough to sample many figures. For a first reading, try comparing the treatment of two authors from different regions or periods—say, Irving and a Western writer—to see how Martin's selections highlight regional differences in subject and style.

Leafing through that old 1874 anthology, I felt the patient care in its biographical notes, how each writer’s life seemed to soften the edges of their words. It put me in mind of Studies in Classic American Literature — Reading Companion, with its quieter, almost reverent attention to the same voices. Both feel like conversations, not lectures, held across a long, comfortable distance.