Naturalism is an American literary movement. In general, the concept is one in which everything belongs to nature, is "natural." Naturalist writers include: Theodore Dreiser, Jack London, Stephen Crane, Ellen Glasgow, and Edith Wharton. Read more about American Naturalism.
1. Resisting Regionalism: Gender and Naturalism in American Fiction
by Donna M. Campbell. Ohio University Press. The author covers the works of writers like Crane, Norris, London, Frederic, Wharton, But she also discusses the works of Sarah Orne Jewett, Rose Terry Cooke, Mary Wilkins Freeman and other "local colorists."
2. The Cambridge Companion to American Realism and Naturalism
by Donald Pizer (Editor). Cambridge University Press. In this book, the author discusses Howell's "The Rise of Silas Lapham" to London's "The Call of the Wild," with chapters including: "The American Background," "The European Background," "Recent Critical Approaches," and more.3. Determined Fictions : American Literary Naturalism
by Lee Clark Mitchell. Columbia University Press. The author argues "for a more sophisticated view of both the deterministic philosophy and the stylistic devices of literary naturalism." In this book, he discusses the works of Crane, Dreiser, Norris, and London.4. Recalling the Wild: Naturalism and the Closing of the American West
by Mary Lawlor. Rutgers University Press. Mary Lawlor discusses naturalism in the works of Frank Norris, Stephen Crane, Jack London, and Willa Cather. She discusses how the idea of the West has developed, through Daniel Boon, James Fenimore Cooper, and beyond.5. Form and History in American Literary Naturalism
by June Howard. University of North Carolina Press. This book is a great introduction to Naturalism, from ideology and the reshaping of historical experience to its function in fiction and nonfiction.6. The Naturalistic Novel of the New World : A Comparative Study
by Joao Sedycias. University Press of America. The author discusses Crane's "Maggie: A Girl of the Streets," Azevedo's "O cortico," and Gamboa's "Santa." Sections include: "The Prostitute in the New Naturalistic Fiction," "A Girardian Exegesis of the Roman Experimental," and "Conclusions," which includes a chapter on "Cultural Perspectives in New World Naturalistic Fiction."7. American Thought in Transition
by Paul F. Boller, Jr. University Press of America. This book was originally published in 1969. The author makes a study of the time after the Civil War until the Spanish American War drew to an end, including a discussion of ideas.8. The Naturalistic Inner-City Novel in America : Encounters With the Fat
by James R. Giles. University of South Carolina Press. This book covers naturalism from the turn-of-the-century, with writers including: Stephen Crane, Frank Norris, and Jack London. Giles discusses the evolution of naturalism in the inner city: the "ethnic protest novel," the "absurdist naturalism," and the "radical narrative."