The fugitive is the sinister hero of many a novel (Light in August, Beloved), the luminary in a cluster of motion pictures and in other popular entertainment (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Bonnie and Clyde, The Fugitive, Thelma and Louise), and a headliner for the daily news (O. J. Simpson, Osama bin Laden). Yet, although a paradigm and symbol, seldom has the fugitive figure been the focus of literary or cultural discussion.

Correcting that oversight, this book maps changing landscapes of criminal flight in American texts by focusing on the...