LEVIN, David. History as Romantic Art: Bancroft, Prescott, Motley, and Parkman. (Stanford Studies in Language and Literature, XX) index. 272 pp. 59-10634. Stanford Univ. Pr. Sept. 25. $5.50. LIT/AMER HIST
Mr. Levin, associate professor of English in Stanford University, presents a study of four great American historians of the early 19th century which is a combination of "literary and intellectual history with literary criticism." The book compares the similarities of language, techniques, themes, and characters found in the four, against the common background of a Romantic literary tradition. The three parts of the study consist of a short essay on "The Historian as Romantic Man of Letters," five chapters headed "Conventional Characters: Individuals and Races," and three long critical essays on Prescott's "Conquest of Mexico," Motley's "Rise of the Dutch Republic," and Parkman's "Montcalm and Wolfe." An important scholarly study; recommended chiefly for research collections.
--T. M. Bogie, Co-ord., Technical Processes, Dallas, Tex., P. L.