A Book of Prefaces

by H. L. Mencken

[79] The point is discussed by H. V. Routh in The Cambridge History of English Literature, vol. XI, p. 290.

[80] In Boon; New York, George H. Doran Co., 1915.

[81] In a letter to Felix Shay, Nov. 24, 1916.

---

INDEX

• • Abolitionists,
    • [123],
    • [231]
    • [14],
    • [17]
    • [53]
    • [12],
    • [16],
    • [37],
    • [42],
    • [47],
    • [51],
    • [52],
    • [56],
    • [59]
    • [239]
    • [25],
    • [197-8],
    • [207 et seq.]
    • [36]
    • [20-3]
    • [135]
    • [254 n],
    • [255 et seq.]
    • [244 et seq.],
    • [249-50]
    • [269]
  • Agnosticism,
  • Alden, W. L., on Conrad,
  • "Almayer's Folly,"
  • American Bible Society,
  • American mind,
  • "Amy Foster,"
  • Anglo-Saxon point of view,
  • Animal behaviour, theory of,
  • "Anthony Comstock, Fighter,"
  • Anti-Saloon League,
  • Art Students' League raid,
• • Balzac, H. de,
    • [15],
    • [73],
    • [76],
    • [113],
    • [155],
    • [202],
    • [260]
    • [106]
    • [126]
    • [267 n.]
    • [19],
    • [26],
    • [32],
    • [48],
    • [62],
    • [78],
    • [104],
    • [137],
    • [142],
    • [143]
    • [261-2]
    • [146],
    • [202],
    • [216],
    • [224]
    • [126]
    • [104]
    • [147 n],
    • [158],
    • [237 n.]
    • [134],
    • [158]
    • [25]
    • [134]
    • [116 et seq.],
    • [119]
  • "Banks of the Wabash, The,"
  • Beauty, Dreiser on,
  • Benedict, Judge Chas. L., and Comstockery,
  • Bennett, Arnold,
  • Bible, declared obscene,
  • Bierce, Ambrose,
  • "Blue Sphere, The,"
  • Bohemian Magazine,
  • Bourne, Randolph,
  • Boynton, H. W.,
  • British mind,
  • Brooks, Van Wyck,
  • Butler, Edward Malia,
• • Calvinism,
    • [14],
    • [139],
      • [242],
      • [274]
      • [51];
    • [164],
      • [53];
    • [197 et seq.]
      • [54];
    • [75]
      • [56];
    • [241];
      • [36 et seq.];
    • moving picture,
      • [40 et seq.];
    • [143],
      • [13],
      • [18];
    • [221]
      • [17],
      • [29-32];
    • [37],
      • [33-5];
    • [48],
      • [29];
    • [56],
      • [30],
      • [45],
      • [48-9],
      • [88 et seq.],
      • [96]
    • [60]
    • [269]
    • [166],
    • [169 et seq.]
    • [52],
    • [54],
    • [59]
    • [253 et seq.]
    • [241],
    • [257 et seq.]
    • [101-2],
    • [140 et seq.]
    • [20];
    • first book,
    • early success,
    • pensioned,
    • his books as bibelots,
    • style,
    • materials,
    • irony,
    • ethical agnosticism,
    • on women,
    • statement of his task,
    • contrasted with other authors,
    • [79],
    • [114 et seq.],
    • [135],
    • [201]
    • [153 et seq.],
    • [191-2]
    • [60]
  • Catholicism, Dreiser's,
  • Censorship, theatre,
  • Century Magazine,
  • "Chance,"
  • Chicago Vice Commission, report of,
  • "Children of the Sea," see "Nigger of the Narcissus, The"
  • "Chopin: the Man and His Music,"
  • Clemens, S. L., see Twain, Mark
  • Clifford, Hugh,
  • Comstock, Anthony,
  • Comstock Postal Acts of 1873,
  • Comstocks, attack on Dreiser,
  • Conrad, Joseph, birth and parentage,
  • Cowperwood, Frank,
  • Criticism in America,
  • Curle, Richard,
• • Delineator,
    • [104]
    • [171],
    • [178]
      • [68 et seq.];
    • [152-3]
      • [98-105];
    • [103]
      • [70],
      • [98 et seq.];
    • [70],
      • [100],
      • [105];
    • [100-1],
      • [105],
      • [125-6];
    • [102]
      • [105],
      • [127-131];
    • [180],
      • [79 et seq.],
      • [113];
    • [182]
      • [12];
    • [76-7],
      • [88 et seq.],
      • [147];
    • [106];
      • [106 et seq.];
    • early influences,
      • [131 et seq.];
    • career in journalism,
      • [139 et seq.];
    • first book,
      • [34],
      • [88 et seq.]
    • dates of books,
    • plays,
    • travel books,
    • style,
    • mysticism,
    • agnosticism,
    • his novels criticized,
    • academic attitude toward,
    • attacked by Comstocks,
    • contrasted with Conrad,
    • [106],
    • [130]
  • de Pachmann, Vladimir,
  • Dewey, John,
  • Dime novels, Dreiser as editor of,
  • Doubleday, Page & Co.,
  • Drama League of America,
  • Dreiser, Theodore, birth and parentage,
  • Dresser, Paul
• • "Egoists,"
    • [179],
    • [181]
    • [47]
  • "End of the Tether, The,"
• • "Falk,"
    • [16],
    • [36],
    • [39],
    • [47],
    • [59],
    • [64]
    • [18],
    • [19]
    • [81],
    • [86],
    • [101],
    • [105],
    • [107],
    • [114],
    • [122],
    • [138]
    • [73],
    • [84],
    • [136],
    • [181]
    • [11],
    • [13],
    • [17],
    • [60]
  • Fiction, English,
  • "Financier, The,"
  • Flaubert, Gustave,
  • Follett, Wilson,
• • Garnett, Edward,
    • [52]
    • [80-81],
    • [83],
    • [86],
    • [87],
    • [93],
    • [105],
    • [107],
    • [115],
    • [122],
    • [125],
    • [139],
    • [226],
    • [270],
    • [273],
    • [282]
    • [109-10],
    • [119],
    • [137]
    • [96],
    • [117]
    • [25]
    • [125]
    • [228-30]
    • [12]
    • [227]
    • [124],
    • [145],
    • [224]
  • "'Genius,' The,"
  • Gerhardt, Jennie,
  • Gerhardt, Jennie's father,
  • German mind,
  • "Girl in the Coffin, The,"
  • Good Templars,
  • Goorall, Yanko,
  • Great Awakening of 1734,
  • Greenwich Village,
• • "Hand of the Potter, The,"
    • [105]
    • [85]
      • [167],
      • [183];
    • [16],
      • [166-7];
    • [62],
      • [159 et seq.],
      • [190-4];
    • [69],
      • [168-175];
    • [71],
      • [188-90];
    • [72],
      • [59];
    • [76],
      • [193];
    • [260]
      • [180 et seq.]
    • [100-2],
    • [105]
    • [163],
    • [169],
    • [177]
    • [35],
    • [36],
    • [41],
    • [64]
    • [236]
    • [12],
    • [34],
    • [59]
    • [76],
    • [86],
    • [88],
    • [92],
    • [105],
    • [106],
    • [125],
    • [127 et seq.]
    • [126]
    • [28],
    • [58],
    • [74],
    • [76],
    • [97],
    • [156],
    • [159],
    • [188],
    • [205],
    • [217],
    • [218],
    • [275],
    • [282]
    • [53],
    • [54]
    • [164];
    • in journalism,
    • as music student,
    • as a critic,
    • books on music,
    • stories,
    • on Conrad,
    • his aims,
    • style,
    • [99],
    • [108-9]
  • Hanson, Minnie,
  • Hardy, Thomas,
  • Harper & Bros.,
  • Harvard,
  • "Heart of Darkness,"
  • Herrenmoral,
  • Heyst,
  • "Hoosier Holiday, A,"
  • Hope, Dreiser on,
  • Howells, W. D.,
  • Hueffer, Ford Madox,
  • Huneker, James, birth and parentage,
  • Hurstwood,
• • Ibsen, Henrik,
    • [15],
    • [23],
    • [24],
    • [40],
    • [83],
    • [124],
    • [156],
    • [160-1],
    • [162],
    • [182],
    • [200]
    • [169],
    • [170],
    • [179],
    • [181]
    • [42],
    • [53],
    • [56]
    • [126]
    • [59]
  • "Iconoclasts,"
  • "Inheritors, The,"
  • "In the Dark,"
  • "Ivory, Apes and Peacocks,"
• • James, Henry,
    • [58],
    • [62],
    • [113],
    • [217],
    • [218],
    • [283]
    • [16],
    • [71],
    • [76-7],
    • [82],
    • [84],
    • [96],
    • [101],
    • [105-9],
    • [111-2],
    • [117],
    • [124],
    • [276]
    • [257 et seq.]
    • [12],
    • [16],
    • [38],
    • [39],
    • [42],
    • [59]
    • [80-1],
    • [85]
    • [167],
    • [178]
  • "Jennie Gerhardt,"
  • Jesup, Morris K.,
  • Jim, Lord,
  • Jones, Althea,
  • Joseffy, Rafael,
• • Kellner, Leon,
    • [197 et seq.]
    • [188 et seq.]
    • [12],
    • [16],
    • [34],
    • [38],
    • [39],
    • [59]
  • Kultur-Novellen, Huneker's,
  • Kurtz,
• • Libraries, Dreiser's books in American,
    • [143-5 n.]
    • [86],
    • [88],
    • [92],
    • [105]
    • [36],
    • [47],
    • [56],
    • [60]
    • [242]
    • [126]
  • "Life, Art and America,"
  • "Lord Jim,"
  • Lord's Day Alliance,
  • Love, Dreiser on,
• • MacWhirr, Capt.,
    • [12],
    • [37],
    • [42]
    • [241],
    • [251-2],
    • [258]
    • [36],
    • [37]
    • [40],
    • [85],
    • [99],
    • [109 et seq.],
    • [126],
    • [137]
    • [188 et seq.]
    • [239]
    • [139],
    • [197],
    • [277]
    • [168]
    • [50],
    • [56]
    • [253]
  • Mann Act,
  • Marlow,
  • Meeber, Carrie,
  • "Melomaniacs,"
  • Men and Religions Forward Movement,
  • Methodism,
  • "Mezzotints in Modern Music,"
  • "Mirror of the Sea, The,"
  • "Morals, Not Art or Literature,"
• • Naturalism, German,
    • [77]
    • [165],
    • [183 et seq.]
    • [15],
    • [29],
    • [90],
    • [93],
    • [136],
    • [158],
    • [162],
    • [173],
    • [180],
    • [181],
    • [183],
    • [192],
    • [193]
    • [50],
    • [52],
    • [56]
    • [15],
    • [70],
    • [71],
    • [100],
    • [108],
    • [122],
    • [163],
    • [191],
    • [224]
    • [12],
    • [38],
    • [42],
    • [45],
    • [46-7],
    • [48],
    • [56]
  • "New Cosmopolis,"
  • Nietzsche, F. W.,
  • "Nigger of the Narcissus, The,"
  • Norris, Frank,
  • "Nostromo,"
• • "Old Fogy,"
    • [170 et seq.],
    • [179],
    • [181]
    • [125]
    • [37]
  • "Old Ragpicker,"
  • "Outcast of the Islands, An,"
• • Page, Walter H.,
    • [102]
    • [164]
    • [37],
    • [51],
    • [88]
    • [165],
    • [184-5]
    • [105],
    • [125]
    • [73],
    • [151],
    • [152],
    • [154],
    • [180-1],
    • [189],
    • [214],
    • [221]
    • [42],
    • [47]
    • [165],
    • [185-6]
    • [228-9],
    • [244 et seq.]
    • [228]
  • "Pathos of Distance, The,"
  • "Personal Record, A,"
  • Pilsner,
  • "Plays of the Natural and the Supernatural,"
  • Poe, Edgar Allan,
  • "Point of Honor, The,"
  • Prague,
  • Prohibition,
  • Prudery, American,
• • Razumov,
    • [12],
    • [34],
    • [49]
    • [14]
    • [42]
    • [56]
    • [12]
    • [49-50]
  • Resignationism,
  • "Return, The,"
  • "Romance,"
  • Ruiz, Gaspar,
  • Russia, Conrad's picture of,
• • Sea, Conrad's pictures of,
    • [50-1]
    • [42],
    • [48],
    • [59],
    • [60]
    • [56]
    • [12],
    • [13],
    • [47]
    • [14-5],
    • [61],
    • [155],
    • [121],
    • [199],
    • [204]
    • [15],
    • [16],
    • [19],
    • [26],
    • [121-2],
    • [161],
    • [182],
    • [269]
    • [58],
    • [70],
    • [71],
    • [73],
    • [81],
    • [84],
    • [95],
    • [97],
    • [98 et seq.],
    • [105],
    • [107],
    • [108],
    • [109],
    • [111],
    • [112-3],
    • [117],
    • [119],
    • [126],
    • [143],
    • [201]
    • [22],
    • [235]
    • [14]
    • [37],
    • [56.] (See also "Personal Record, A.")
    • [228]
    • [103-4]
    • [19],
    • [28-9],
    • [39]
  • "Secret Agent, The,"
  • "Set of Six, A.,"
  • "Shadow Line, The,"
  • Shakespeare, Wm.,
  • Shaw, G. B.,
  • "Sister Carrie,"
  • Sklavenmoral,
  • Slav, qualities of,
  • "Some Reminiscences,"
  • Sons of Temperance,
  • Street & Smith,
  • Symons, Arthur,
• • "Tales of Unrest,"
    • [52],
    • [56]
    • [60],
    • [77],
    • [82],
    • [86],
    • [101],
    • [105],
    • [106],
    • [111],
    • [114],
    • [117 et seq.],
    • [129],
    • [138],
    • [201],
    • [275]
    • [261-2]
    • [76],
    • [82],
    • [105],
    • [125],
    • [127]
    • [126]
    • [15],
    • [17],
    • [30],
    • [90],
    • [131-2],
    • [133],
    • [143],
    • [151],
    • [202],
    • [203-4],
    • [217],
    • [222]
    • [12],
    • [47],
    • [50],
    • [53]
  • "Titan, The,"
  • Train, George Francis,
  • "Traveler at Forty, A.,"
  • Truth, Dreiser on,
  • Twain, Mark,
  • "Typhoon,"
• • "Under Western Eyes,"
    • [36],
    • [42],
    • [47],
    • [48],
    • [49],
    • [56],
    • [59]
• • "Victory,"
    • [13],
    • [33],
    • [42],
    • [48],
    • [55],
    • [56]
    • [188 et seq.]
  • "Visionaries,"
• • Webb Law,
    • [230],
    • [241],
    • [258]
    • [19],
    • [32],
    • [38],
    • [48],
    • [53],
    • [62],
    • [135],
    • [142],
    • [144],
    • [281]
    • [237],
    • [246]
    • [122 et seq.],
    • [137],
    • [140 et seq.]
  • Wells, H. G.,
  • Wille zur Macht, the Puritan
  • Witla, Eugene,
• • Young Men's Christian Association,
    • [230],
    • [238],
    • [240],
    • [256]
    • [12],
    • [13],
    • [37],
    • [41],
    • [48],
    • [53],
    • [54],
    • [56],
    • [64]
  • "Youth,"
• • Zola, Emile,
    • [15-6],
    • [63],
    • [71-2],
    • [76],
    • [78],
    • [113],
    • [124],
    • [136],
    • [202],
    • [216],
    • [260]