History in Literature: A Reader's Guide to 20th Century History and the Literature It Inspired

Fans of historical novels should appreciate this guide to 20th century history, which describes the major events and figures of the era as well as the major fictional stories and characters that they inspired. Quinn, a professor emeritus of English at the City College of New York, favors battles and political upheavals like the Mexican Revolution and the War of the Pacific over cultural landmarks like the Scopes trial, but his selections of both events and literature are international in range. A discussion of fascism, for example, includes the fiction of Celine and of Thomas Mann. Quinn's entries are not always the expected ones--a section on the Jazz Age includes Toni Morrison's 1992 novel, Jazz, as well as works by F. Scott Fitzgerald--and the brief entries are too short to be truly comprehensive. Nonetheless, this clear and well-organized guide makes a useful reference.