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Article Abstract:

The Royal Opera House's 1997 production of Benjamin Britten's operetta 'Paul Bunyan' won unexpected acclaim. However, W.H. Auden's libretto is disturbing to individuals interested in the presentation of US history. The libretto presents the myth developed by early US loggers concerning the giant Paul Bunyan who felled the trees of the virgin forest which was America, to enable it to become a nation of production, commerce and motion pictures. The story contains a number of misrepresentations and omissions, including an absence of American natives, and is fundamentally inaccurate.

Britten, Benjamin, Auden, W.H., Paul Bunyan (opera)

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More English than the English: cavalier and Democrat in Virginia historical writing, 1870-1930

Article Abstract:

Virginia historical writing from 1870 to 1930 was filled with the myth of the cavalier, modified to include democratic as well as chivalric values. Virginian leaders were linked to English Civil War royalist refugees. Virginian independence and the US Civil War were authenticated by exploring similar events in European history. This myth legitimized Virginian society and distanced it from the corruption and materialism of the time. The cavalier myth was used to explain any signal political or social event through a remaking of European history to include democratic values.

Virginia, Literature, Chivalry

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Silver slippers and a golden cap: L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and historical memory in American politics

Article Abstract:

American history scholars have studied L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz to understand Oz's revered place in American life. It is argued that the work is best understood as a cultural and political satire, when related to some of Baum's earlier and later writings. The sectional and racial content of Oz tales, and the elaborate use of geography is discussed. The work could also be seen as a text standing apart from its author, with some of the social and political themes unintentional.

Authors, Writers, Works, Baum, L. Frank

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