<p>Stephen Crane led a short but influential life. Born in 1871, Crane wrote few novels during his career but found international acclaim with The Red Badge of Courage (1895). The novel is atypical in its narrative structure.  With an impressionistic style, it depicts vignettes of a soldier’s experience among atrocities and triumphs of one unnamed Civil War battle. The realism of the novel was lauded by veterans, who felt their experiences were finally articulated. Fascinatingly, Crane had never seen battle, and had drawn his inspiration from his experiences playing football. His ability to write a work that resonated so well with veterans despite his own ignorance of war speaks to the power of his literary genius. Later, when Crane did see battle from his time as a wartime correspondent for the Greco-Turkish War, he felt  the experience validated his earlier depictions of war.</p>
<p>Crane experimented with form, ignoring the pull to a typical novel structure. He relied heavily upon impressionism and symbolism, giving his short body of work a distinctive flair. He died in Germany of tuberculous in 1900 at the tender age of 28. His short but hugely impactful career in literature came to six novels, along with poems, and short stories.</p>
