Before the Civil War the literature preferred in the South was romantic in nature. After the Civil War life changed and so did the literature of the South. Realism was in vogue. The commonplace was now the subject of literary works. The writers showed the rest of the world glimpses of the characters and life in the new South. Within the local color in these stories the reader can find genuine pathos, true humor, noble feelings, and generous sympathy. Stories included in this collection are: The Capture of Andy Proudfoot by Brace Cooke, The Level of fortune by Abby Roach, Pap Overholt by Alice MacGowan, In the Piny Woods by B F Mayhew, My Fifth in Mammy by William Sheppard, An Incident by Sarah Elliott, A Snipe Hunt by M E M Davis, The Courtship of Colonel Bill by J J Eakins, and The Balance of Power by Maurice Thompson.

Southern Lights and Shadows by Henry Mills Alden and William Dean Howells is The most noticeable characteristic of the extraordinary literary development of the South since the Civil War is that it is almost entirely in the direction of realism.

Southern Lights and Shadows, a classical book, has been considered important throughout the human history, and so that this work is never forgotten we at Alpha Editions have made efforts in its preservation by republishing this book in a modern format for present and future generations. This whole book has been reformatted, retyped and designed. These books are not made of scanned copies of their original work and hence the text is clear and readable.

Sketches of Australian life, put together at sea in the author's bunk "during three days' stiffish gale off the Falklands".