 After Crane 's premature death from tuberculosis at the age of 28 , his work enjoyed a resurgence of popularity . Author and critic Elbert Hubbard wrote in Crane 's obituary in the Philistine that " The Open Boat " was " the sternest , creepiest bit of realism ever penned " . Also noting the depressing Realism utilized in the story , editor Vincent Starrett stated : " It is a desolate picture , and the tale is one of our greatest short stories . " Another of the author 's friends , H. G. Wells , wrote that " The Open Boat " was " beyond all question , the crown of all [ Crane 's ] work . " Singling out Crane 's usage of color and chiaroscuro in his writing , Wells continued : " It has all the stark power of the earlier stories , with a new element of restraint ; the color is as full and strong as ever , fuller and stronger , indeed ; but those chromatic splashes that at times deafen and confuse in The Red Badge , those images that astonish rather than enlighten , are disciplined and controlled . " The story remains popular with critics ; Thomas Kent referred to " The Open Boat " as Crane 's " magnum opus " , while Crane biographer Stanley Wertheim called it " Crane 's finest short story and one of the masterworks of late nineteenth @-@ century American literature " . 
