"In this book, Palumbo-DeSimone considers the place of American women's short fiction in nineteenth-century literary and popular culture. Resisting the narrow focus on content prevalent in feminist criticism, the book instead explores the long-overlooked role of short-story structure in women's popular fiction.".

"The study reveals how the female world ultimately defined what constituted a "story" for nineteenth-century women, and presents a way for today's reader to approach these sometimes puzzling works of short fiction."--BOOK JACKET.