Massachusetts architect David Handlin embarked on an experiment to give his reading “purpose and focus.” He committed to reading only American novels and decided to compile a list of the 100 best that were published between 1770 and 1985. He shared that list with The American Scholar and called it a “draft.”
The list created quite a stir, eliciting animated discussions over the criteria for “best” and the omission of certain texts.
Sandra Gilbert, a distinguished professor of English emerita at the University of California and author of eight books of poetry, even chimed in and questioned the criteria for “novel” and “American.” She was frustrated that the list “would fall into any publisher’s mainstream” and so she was compelled to write her own list, although with a slightly different intent.
We agree that our literary heritage is indeed part of the American narrative. So we’ve combined Handlin’s and Gilbert’s lists into one mega-list of 200 American novels.
