Eighteenth Century English Literature
Cultural History of Literature
1. Auflage Oktober 2011
200 Seiten, Softcover
Wiley & Sons Ltd
This engaging book introduces new readers of eighteenth-century texts to some of the major works, authors, and debates of a key period of literary history. Rather than simply providing a chronological survey of the era, this book analyzes the impact of significant cultural developments on literary themes and forms - including urbanization, colonial, and mercantile expansion, the emergence of the "public sphere," and changes in sex and gender roles.
In eighteenth-century Britain, many of the things we take for granted about modern life were shockingly new: women appeared for the first time on stage; the novel began to dominate the literary marketplace; people entertained the possibility that all human beings were created equal, and tentatively proposed that reason could triumph over superstition; ministers became more powerful than kings, and the consumer emerged as a political force. Eighteenth-Century English Literature: 1660-1789 explores these issues in relation to well-known works by such authors as Defoe, Swift, Pope, Richardson, Gray, and Sterne, while also bringing attention to less familiar figures, such as Charlotte Smith, Mary Leapor, and Olaudah Equiano. It offers both an ideal introduction for students and a fresh approach for those with research interests in the period.
Introduction 1
1 National Identity and a National Literature 9
2 Print Culture and the Public Sphere 41
3 The City 63
4 The Countryside 90
5 Individuality and Imagination 114
6 Religious Experience 136
7 Female Sexuality and Domesticity 156
8 Wit and Sensibility 185
9 Trade and Travel 205
10 Colonialism and Slavery 232
Notes 262
Index 280
field"
The Year's Work in English Studies
"Sussman's study of 18th-century literature is very readable and
clear as it is free from obfuscating theoretical jargon. It
addresses a large market of general as well as academic readers,
and even experienced and widely-read scholars and teachers, ever in
danger of dogmatic stasis, will profit enormously from its new
readings and occasional provocations"
Anglistik
"Professor Sussman has written an admirably lucid, lively book
which conveys an enormous amount of up-to-the minute scholarship
with concision, elegance, and lightness of touch. The book combines
well selected thematic discussions and detailed readings of
essential texts, with fascinating historical material in ways that
will answer the readers' questions and open out vistas for further
reading and research. A valuable introduction to the literature of
this period for undergraduate and postgraduate readers."
Karen O'Brien University of Warwick
"Eighteenth-Century English Literature by Charlotte
Sussman is an outstanding introduction to eighteenth-century
literature: sophisticated, contemporary, but also accessible. The
book would make a wonderful supplement to a course on
eighteenth-century literature, either graduate or undergraduate,
and offers much of interest to the curious general reader as
well."
Laura Rosenthal, University of Maryland
