his volume forms part of a continuing initiative by Wayne R. Kime to
make available the writings of Fitz-James O'Brien (1828-1862), an
Irish-American literary man who during his lifetime won reputation as
one of the most talented young authors in the United States, but who has
been all but forgotten since. It follows Fitz-James O'Brien: Selected
Literary Journalism, 1852-1860 (Susquehanna University Press, 2003) and
Behind the Curtain: Selected Fiction of Fitz-James O'Brien (University
of Delaware Press and Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, 2011), both
edited by Kime. Like its predecessors, the volume offers evidence that
"not only for his vivid contemporaneity but also for his originality,
range, and technical skill" (Fitz-James O'Brien: Selected Literary
Journalism, 10), O'Brien's claim to lasting memory was well justified.
Thirteen Stories by Fitz-James O'Brien: The Realm of Mind presents a
group of works that explore one of the author's special interests, the
representation of individual consciousness. All but three of the stories
are reprinted here for the first time. The works are arranged
chronologically, by date of publication, under five headings: Expanded
Faculties ("The Old Boy," "The Spider's Eye," "Seeing the World"),
Induced Visions ("The Hasheesh Eater," "Broadway Bedeviled"), New
Knowledge ("Mr. Grubbe's Night with Memnon," "The Golden Ingot," "How I
Overcame My Gravity"), Love and Hate ("Number 101," "Jubal, the
Ringer"), and Dreams ("A Terrible Night," "The Crystal Bell," "From Hand
to Mouth"). A general introduction, brief introductions to the
individual stories, and explanatory notes complement the reprinted
texts. The volume has been designed to appeal to both general and
specialist readers.
