Richard Hurdis

About

Originally published in 1838, Richard Hurdis portrays the “wild and savage” southwest frontier of the new Republic in the 1820s and 30s. When the narrator/protagonist Richard Hurdis daringly infiltrates the criminal network in an effort the stem the corruption and to avenge the brutal murder of his best friend, the scene is set for a powerful story. In Richard Hurdis, Simms the historian, the realist, and the novelist merge to create a memorable book.

Series

The University of Arkansas Press edition of the Selected Fiction of William Gilmore Simms has as its aim to publish the major novels and short fiction in reliable texts, together with scholarly introductions, annotations, and other matter useful to scholars, critics, and teachers of Simms’s work. Though not full-dress editions in the strictest sense, the volumes of the Arkansas Simms follow the conventions of scholarly editing by reprinting the last edition revised by Simms during his lifetime. Orthography, capitalization, and word division follow nineteenth-century practices, with no effort to modernize spelling or punctuation. Earlier volumes in the series have included both an introduction by Professor John C. Guilds, now the general editor emeritus, and a historical note and afterword by the editor of that particular volume. In the recent volumes the introduction, historical note, and afterword will be combined into a single introduction prepared by the volume editor.