Reinventing liberty : nation, commerce and the historical novel from Walpole to Scott / Fiona Price.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Price, Fiona L., author.

Series:

Edinburgh critical studies in romanticism.

Edinburgh critical studies in romanticism

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Historical fiction, English--History and criticism.

Historical fiction, English.

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

English literature.

English literature--19th century--History and criticism.

Liberty in literature.

Commerce in literature.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (241 pages) : illustrations; digital, PDF file(s).

Place of Publication:

Edinburgh University Press 2016

Edinburgh, Scotland : Edinburgh University Press, 2016.

Language Note:

English

System Details:

text file PDF

Summary:

Sir Walter Scott is often regarded as the first historical novelist. Reinventing Liberty challenges this view by returning us to the rich range of historical fiction written in the late 18th and early 19th century. For the first time placing these works in the context of British politics and British history writing, this book redefines the historical novel, revealing a genre which seeks to manage political change through historiographical experimentation. It explores how historical novelists participated in a contentious debate concerning the nature of commercial modernity, the formulation of political progress and British national identity. Ranging across well-known writers, like William Godwin, Horace Walpole and Frances Burney, to lesser-known figures, such as Cornelia Ellis Knight and Jane Porter, Reinventing Liberty uncovers how history becomes a site to rethink Britain as 'land of liberty'. Reading Scott in relation to this tradition, Reinventing Liberty demonstrates the genre's troubled role in the construction of the myth of Britain as a nation of gradual, safe political change

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Acknowledgements

Introduction

1. Ancient Liberties

2. The Labours of History

3. Uneasy Alliances: Liberty and the Nation

4. Conserving Histories: Chivalry, Science and Liberty

5. The End of History? Scott, His Precursors and the Violent Past

Conclusion

Bibliography

Index

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

CC BY

Description based on e-publication, viewed on April 04, 2019.

OCLC:

953488765