The Unvanquished is an excellent book, which depicts life in the South during and after the Civil War. The title means "the undefeated or the unconquered," and Faulkner expounds on this topic. One by one, the characters are defeated by either disillusionment, selfishness, or vainity ,and only one character withstands the terrible effects of the war: Bayard. Faulker does a remarkable job depicting the emotions of Southerners during this time and uses great imagery.

This collection of short prose pieces was originally published in the _New Orleans Time Picayune_ in 1925; however, I'm not sure that Faulkner would be entirely pleased that they have been re-exposed to the light of day. The writing is rough, even amateurish, and the story lines of the pieces are often trite and stock. But in spite of the general weakness of the writings, there are thematic elements and character types in the pieces that would reappear in Faulkner's mature writings. What is absolutely amazing is that just two years after the publication of these mediocre writings, Faulkner had published two novels and was deeply involved in the creation of his masterpiece, _The Sound and the Fury_.