Representative rather than comprehensive, this highly readable volume charts the progress of American theater between 1787–1911, with a chronological selection of 16 of the best works from that period. Included are: Charles the Second, by John Howard Payne and Washington Irving (1824); Fashion, by Anna Cora Mowatt (1845); Uncle Tom’s Cabin, by George L. Aiken (1852); Charles Fechter’s The Count of Monte Cristo, (1883); The Mouse-Trap, by William Dean Howells (1889); William Vaughn Moody’s The Great Divide (1906); and many more. Preface. Introduction. Background Essay.