Overview

St. Elmo was the most famed and beloved novel by Augusta Jane Evans, a June 2015 inductee into the Alabama Writers Hall of Fame. First published in 1866, Evans’s rich tale of the relationship between the dashing and worldly St. Elmo and Edna Earl, an exemplar of virtuous Southern womanhood, sold over a million copies in four months and became one of the nineteenth century’s most influential novels. This edition includes an introduction by Evans scholar Diane Roberts about the enduring relevance and legacy of St. Elmo as a work of literature as well as a reflection of gender roles and the seismic societal changes taking place in the United States in the aftermath of the Civil War.

Full Product Details

9780817305772

Table of Contents

Reviews

St. Elmo appeared in 1867, and over a million people read it during the first four months. It has gone through scores of editions, has been acted on the stage in eight different dramatic versions, and in 1914 became one of Hollywood s first box-office successes. The Georgia Review

Applying a historical reading to the text reveals the importance of religion in the transformation of women's education; it helped transform the feminine pursuit of knowledge from a cultural poison to an elixir deemed safe for domestic consumption. --David Bordelon, author of The Eudaimonic Turn

Author Information

Alabama Women's Hall of Fame member Augusta J. Evans was born in 1835 in Columbus, Georgia. She authored nine novels: Inez, Beulah, Macaria, St. Elmo, Vashti, Infelice, At the Mercy of Tiberius, A Speckled Bird, and Devota.

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available