BIOGRAPHY AND PERSONALITY OF A FAMOUS SCORPIO: STEVEN CRANE

(born Nov. 1, 1871, Newark, N.J., U.S.—died June 5, 1900, Badenweiler, Baden, Ger.) U.S. novelist and short-story writer. Crane briefly attended college before moving to New York City. His Maggie: A Girl of the Streets (1893), a sympathetic study of a slum girl's descent into prostitution, was a milestone of literary naturalism. He achieved international fame with his masterwork, The Red Badge of Courage (1895), depicting the psychological turmoil of a young Civil War soldier, and with his first book of poems, The Black Riders (1895). While traveling as a war correspondent, his ship sank and he almost drowned, resulting in his great story “The Open Boat” (1898). His story collections include The Little Regiment (1896), The Monster (1899), and Whilomville Stories (1900). He died at 28 of tuberculosis.

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