Published in 1919, Winesburg, Ohio is Sherwood Anderson's masterpiece, a work in which he achieved the goal to which he believed all true writers should aspire: to see and feel "all of life within." In a perfectly imagined world, an archetypal small American town, he reveals the hidden passions that turn ordinary lives into unforgeittable ones. Unified by the recurring presence of young George Willard, and played out against the backdrop of Winesburg, Anderson's loosely connected chapters, or stories, coalesce into a powerful novel.

In such tales as "Hands," the portrayal of a rural berry picker still haunted by the accusations of homosexuality that ended his teaching career, Anderson"s vision is as acute today as it was over seventy-five years ago. His intuitive ability to home in on examples of timeless human conflicts--a working man deciding if he should marry the woman who is to bear his child, an unhappy housewife who seeks love from the town"s doctor, an unmarried high school teacher sexually attracted to a pupil--makes this book not only immensely readable but also deeply meaningful, An important influence on Faulkner, Hemingway, and others who were drawn to Anderson"s innovative format and psychological insights, Winesburg, Ohio deserves a place among the front ranks of our nation"s finest literary achievements.

Introduction by Jeffrey Meyers

THE TALES AND THE PERSONS

The Book of the Grotesque

HANDS---concerning Wing Biddlebaum

PAVER Pints--concerning Doctor Reefy

MOTHER--concerning Elizabeth Willard

THE PHILOSOPHER---concerning Doctor

  Parcival

NOBODY KNows-concerning Louise

  Trunnion

GODLINESS, a Tale in Four Parts

l--concerning Jesse Bentley

  II--also concerning Jesse Bentley

 III Surrender----concerning Louise Bentley

  IV Terror---concerning David Hardy

A MAN OF IDEAS--concerning Joe Welling

ADVENTURE--concerning Alice Hindman

RESPECTABILITY---conceming Wash Williams

THE THINKER--concerning Seth Richmond

TANDY--conceming Tandy Hard

THE STRENGTH OF GOD--concerning the

 Reverend Curtis Hartman

THE TEACHER--concerning Kate Swift

LONELINESS---concerning Enoch Robinson

AN AWAKENING---concerning Belle

 Carpenter

"QUEER"--concerning Elmer Cowley

THE UNTOLD LIE---concerning Ray Pearson

DRINK--concerning Tom Foster

DEATH--concerning Doctor Reefy and

 Elizabeth Willard

SOPHISTICATION---concerning Helen White

DEPARTURE--concerning George Willard