The Cambridge introduction to the eighteenth-century novel / April London.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

London, April.

Series:

Cambridge introductions to literature

Cambridge introductions to

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

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

English fiction.

Physical Description:

250 pages ; 23cm.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 2012.

Summary:

"In the eighteenth century, the novel became established as a popular literary form all over Europe. Britain proved an especially fertile ground, with Defoe, Fielding, Richardson and Burney as early exponents of the novel form. The Cambridge Introduction to the Eighteenth-Century Novel considers the development of the genre in its formative period in Britain. Rather than present its history as a linear progression, April London gives an original new structure to the field, organizing it through three broad thematic clusters - identity, community and history. Within each of these themes, she explores the central tensions of eighteenth-century fiction: between secrecy and communicativeness, independence and compliance, solitude and family, cosmopolitanism and nation-building. The reader will gain a thorough understanding of both prominent and lesser-known novels and novelists, key social and literary contexts, the tremendous formal variety of the early novel and its growth from a marginal to a culturally central genre"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Machine generated contents note: Introduction; Part I. Secrets and Singularity: 1. Daniel Defoe and the power of singularity; 2. The virtue of singularity; 3. The punishment of singularity; Part II. Sociability and Community: 4. The reformation of family; 5. Alternative communities; 6. The sociability of books; Part III. History and Nation: 7. History, novel, and polemic; 8. Historical fiction and generational distance.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780521895354

0521895359

9780521719674

0521719674

OCLC:

756167072

Online:

Cover image