"While many of Mary Austin's stories and essays have been compiled and a number of her novels reprinted, this is the first book-length collection of essays on her work. The editors have created a volume that covers the range of Austin's writing in varied genres - exploring both familiar texts and those which have until now received little critical attention and offering a variety of critical perspectives. Some writers extend the established approaches to Austin's work, such as ecocriticism and feminist criticism. Others rethink and redefine the roles in which Austin has usually been cast, as "nature writer," "Western American writer," and social critic. Others read Austin within new theoretical frameworks such as consumer and postcolonial studies."--BOOK JACKET.