Mastering the marketplace : popular literature in nineteenth-century France / Anne O'Neil-Henry.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

O'Neil-Henry, Anne, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

French fiction--19th century--History and criticism.

French fiction.

Literature publishing--France--History--19th century.

Literature publishing.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (pages cm)

Place of Publication:

Lincoln, [Nebraska] ; London, [England] : University of Nebraska Press, 2017.

Summary:

Mastering the Marketplace examines the origins of modern mass-media culture through developments in thenew literary marketplace of nineteenth-century France and how literature itself reveals the broader social and material conditions inwhich it is produced. Anne O'Neil-Henry examines how French authors of the nineteenth century navigated the growing publishing and marketing industry, as well asthe dramatic rise in literacy rates, libraries, reading rooms, literary journals, political newspapers, and the advent of the serial novel. O'Neil-Henryplaces the work of canonical author Honoré de Balzac alongside then-popular writers such asPaul de Kock and Eugène Sue, acknowledging the importance of "low" authors in the wider literary tradition. By reading literary texts alongside associated advertisements, book reviews, publication histories, sales tactics, and promotional tools, O'Neil-Henrypresents anuanced picture of the relationship between"high" and "low" literature, one in which critics and authors alike grappled with the common problem of commercial versus cultural capital. Through new literary readings and original archival research from holdings in the United States and France, O'Neil-Henryrevises existing understandings of a crucial moment in the development of industrialized culture. In the process, shediscloses links between this formative period and our own, in which mobile electronic devices, internet-based bookstores, and massive publishing conglomerates alter-once again-the way literature is written, sold, and read.

Contents:

Introduction

Popular panoramas

The de Kock paradox

The adaptable Eugene Sue

Balzac, high and low

Conclusion.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9781496204677

1496204670

9781496204653

1496204654

OCLC:

994263483