Francis Parkman, Historian as Hero: The Formative Years

FIRST EDITION. American Studies Series. 8vo. 9 1/4 x 6 1/4 inches. 237 pp. Illustrated throughout in black-and-white, bibliographical note, index; text clean, unmarked. Brick red cloth with silver spine stamping, mylar protected dust-jacket. Fine. Francis Parkman, Jr. (1823-1893) was an American historian, best known as author of "The Oregon Trail: Sketches of Prairie," "Rocky-Mountain Life," and "France and England in North America." These works are still valued as historical sources and as literature. Jacobs' biography assesses the influence of Parkman's development and personality on Parkman's histories, but also explores Parkman's relationship to basic social and cultural issues of the nineteenth century United States, including the slavery question, Native American issues, expansion of the suffrage, and anti-Catholicism.