INTRODUCTION.

The introduction to the book "Beyond Understanding: Appeals to the Imagination, Passions and Will in Mid-Nineteenth-Century American Women's Fiction" is presented. It focuses on the re-evaluation of the literary works by 19th-century U.S. women authors. It comments on feminist critics' re-evaluation of these works, including Gayle Greene's view about the 19th-century novel. The factors which opens new possibilities for new readings of mid-nineteenth century U.S. women authors' writings are cited. The work by the 18th-century rhetorician, Reverend George Campbell, is discussed.