Steven Crane, author of the classic novel The Red Badge of Courage, left an impelling legacy, but one I fear is not well publicized, if at all. Besides feeling it my duty as a fellow author to speak of it here in empathizing with his immortal misfortune, I think of the possibility of my novel suffering a similar indelible fate. The Red Badge of courage was written in 1895 at the height of the Romantic period in American history when drama and sensationalism  reigned in the arts and literature. Yet Crane saw things more realistically, and he strove to break with tradition in his masterpiece. A young soldier’s inner battle juxtaposes a literal battle in the American Civil War. Crane’s publishers, however, insisted on a revision that would be more attractive to the general public, emphasizing the glorious side of war, the privilege of fighting for one’s country, and the honor achieved in battle.  Hence, two versions of the novel exist today, Crane’s original and the version he was forced to write.

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