Eighteenth-century characters : a guide to the literature of the age / Elaine M. McGirr.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

McGirr, Elaine M., 1972-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

English literature--18th century--History and criticism.

English literature.

Characters and characteristics in literature.

National characteristics, English, in literature.

Physical Description:

ix, 207 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm

Other Title:

18th-century characters

Place of Publication:

Basingstoke [England] ; New York : Palgrave Macmillan, 2007.

Summary:

Eighteenth-Century Characters offers a concise introduction to the eighteenth century, using characters as its starting point. Elaine M. McGirr presents contextualised readings of stock characters from canonical and popular literature, such as: the Rake and the Fop, the Country Gentleman, the Good Woman, the Coquette and the Prude, the Country Maid and the Town Lady, the Catholic, the Protestant and the British Other. Each chapter explores how a character's significance and role changes over the century, illustrating and explaining radical shifts in taste, ideology and style. Also featuring illustrations, a Chronology and a helpful Bibliography and Further Reading section, this essential guide will provide students with the necessary background to understand the period's literature and to embark on further study.

Contents:

Part I Men: The Makings of an Englishman

2 The Rake 27

3 The Fop 39

4 The Country Gentleman 52

5 The Cit 64

Part II Women: 'Most Women Have No Characters at All'

6 The Unmaking of a Heroine; or, Dwindling into a Wife 77

7 The Coquette and the Prude 91

8 The Country Maid and the Town Lady 105

9 Learned Ladies and Female Wits 119

Part III Others

10 The Catholic Other: Monsieurs and Macaronis 135

11 The Protestant Other: Low and High Dutch 150

12 The British Other: The Scot 159

Primary Works Cited 194.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 198-203) and index.

ISBN:

9781403985576

140398557X

9781403985583

1403985588

OCLC:

76798556

Online:

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