When published in 1895, Stephen Crane’s The Red Badge of Courage was an international bestseller, went into numerous reprints, and has remained widely available ever since. It is the story of the psychological component of combat, and one young warrior’s struggle—in this case an ordinary private—to contain his fear and fulfil his duty. In the course of this brief novel Crane captures the realism of the personal view of war. When it first appeared, The Red Badge of Courage was immediately acknowledged as a masterpiece of war literature, a recognition that it continues to hold to the present
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