Literary studies: fiction Books

Book SynopsisSinclair Lewis, celebrated author of "Babbitt and Main Street", wrote more than twenty novels in the course of his prolific career, most of which went through several editions over the years. This is the definitive descriptive bibliography of the Lewis catalog, now available with a new biographical essay and dozens of additional entries. A full chapter is devoted to each novel, including closeup photos of covers and spines as well as comprehensive information about original publishers, prices, print runs, and bindings. Stephen R. Pastore's book will be an invaluable collector's and scholar's guide to the identification of original Lewis volumes.

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Book Synopsis In this book, Stephen R. L. Clark, a philosopher with a lifelong "addiction" to science fiction, explores G. K. Chesterton's ideas and arguments in their historical context and evaluates them philosophically. He addresses Chesterton's sense that the way things are is not how they must have been or need be in the future and his willingness to face up to the apparent effects of the nihilism he detected in the science and politics of his day. Clark offers a detailed study of some of Chesterton's works that have been identified by science fiction writers and critics as seminal influences. He attempts to deal with some of Chesterton's theories that have been found offensive or "positively wicked" by later writers and critics, including his arguments against female suffrage and in praise of war, his medievalist leanings, and his contemptuous rejection of the Darwinian evolutionary theory. Table of ContentsPreface / ix Introduction / 3 Part I: What’s Wrong with Science Fiction? / 9 1. The Case against Science Fiction / 11 2. In Defense of Science Fiction / 18 Part II: The Texts / 39 3. The Napoleon of Notting Hill / 41 4. The Man Who Was Thursday / 50 5. The Ball and the Cross / 55 6. The Flying Inn / 65 7. The Distributist Rebellion / 73 8. The Return of Don Quixote / 76 Part III: The Themes / 83 9. Nationalists and Jews / 85 10. Women and Men / 97 11. Medievalism, War, and Men’s Ideals / 104 12. Distributism and Anarchy / 115 13. Darwinism, Scientific and Social / 124 14. Animals and the Royal Animal / 144 15. Terrestrial and Extraterrestrial Virtue / 161 16. Miracles and Religion / 174 Conclusion: Thinking Backward / 187 Notes / 201 Index / 241

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Book SynopsisThis is an exhibition catalogue at the Grolier Club, September 16 - November 22, 2008. The theme of loss is expressed or implied in much of Virginia Woolf's fiction and non-fiction, and one that resonates with the story of her own life, from her childhood, through her loss of family, and of friends, and of security in two World Wars, to her struggles with mental illness and her eventual suicide. And yet Virginia Woolf was, by all accounts, a lively and engaging woman, full of warmth, humor, maternal feeling (for her sister's children, as she had none of her own), passion, and exultation. She had a prodigiously active career, and she stood at the center of a large group of notable, engaged figures, many of them public intellectuals at the forefront of their generation, who were connected to her (and to each other) by bonds of family, affinity, shared artistic and social enterprise and, above all, affection. This group, and their friends, produced mountains of books, hundreds of square feet of paintings, and reams of press. The selection of material in this recent Grolier Club exhibition and its accompanyning catalogue documents the mutual enrichment of their life and work, and the resonance of Virginia Woolf's greatest literary work with the story of her life and the lives of those who were dear to her. Much of the material is reproduced here for the first time. Items from William Beekman's collection of Virginia Woolf and Bloomsbury span her life and career, and include photographs, letters, association copies, artwork, and ephemera. From Barbara Dobkin's collection of feminist history are a number of items from Virginia's adolescent library as well as material documenting her relationship with Vita Sackville-West. The Mortimer Rare Book Room at Smith College provided many early images - drawn from Leslie Stephen's photo albums - as well as copiously annotated proof material and samples from Virginia's important correspondence with Lytton Strachey. It is designed by Jerry Kelly, and printed in an edition of 1500 copies.

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Book SynopsisAmerican Unexceptionalism examines a constellation of post-9/11 novels that revolve around white middle-class male suburbanites, thus following a tradition established by writers such as John Updike and John Cheever. Focusing closely on recent works by Richard Ford, Chang-Rae Lee, Jonathan Franzen, Philip Roth, Anne Tyler, Gish Jen, A. M. Homes, and others, Kathy Knapp demonstrates that these authors revisit this well-trod turf and revive the familiar everyman character in order to reconsider and reshape American middle-class experience in the wake of the 9/11 attacks and their ongoing aftermath.The novels in question all take place in the sprawling terrain that stretches out beyond the Twin Towers - the postwar suburbs that since the end of World War II have served, like the Twin Towers themselves, as a powerful advertisement of dominance to people around the globe, by projecting an image of prosperity and family values. These suburban tales and their everyman protagonists grapple, however indirectly, with the implications of the apparent decline of the economic, geopolitical, and moral authority of the United States. In the context of perceived decay and diminishing influence, these novels actively counteract the narrative of American exceptionalism frequently peddled in the wake of 9/11.If suburban fiction has historically been faulted for its limited vision, this newest iteration has developed a depth of field that self-consciously folds the personal into the political, encompasses the have-nots along with the haves, and takes in the past when it imagines the future, all in order to forge a community of readers who are now accountable to the larger world. American Unexceptionalism traces the trajectory by which recent suburban fiction overturns the values of individualism, private property ownership, and competition that originally provided its foundation. In doing so, the novels examined here offer readers new and flexible ways to imagine being and belonging in a setting no longer characterised by stasis, but by flux.

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Book SynopsisCharles Dickens travelled to North America twice, in 1842 and twenty-five years later in 1867--68, and on both trips Massachusetts was part of his itinerary. Although many aspects of his U.S. travels disappointed him, Massachusetts was the one state that met and even exceeded Dickens's expectations for “the republic of [his] imagination.” From the mills of Lowell to the Perkins School for the Blind, it offered an alternate vision of America that influenced his future writings, while the deep and lasting friendships he formed with Bostonians gave him enduring ties to the commonwealth. This volume provides insight from leading scholars who have begun to reassess the significance of Massachusetts in the author's life and work. The collection begins with a broad biographical and historical overview taken from the full-length narrative of the award-winning exhibition Dickens and Massachusetts: A Tale of Power and Transformation, which attracted thousands of visitors while on display in Lowell. Abundant images from the exhibition, many of them difficult to find elsewhere, enhance the story of Dickens's relationship with the vibrant cultural and intellectual life of Massachusetts. The second section includes essays that consider the importance of Dickens's many connections to the commonwealth.In addition to the volume editors, contributors include Chelsea Bray, Iain Crawford, Andre DeCuir, Natalie McKnight, Lillian Nayder, and Kit Polga.

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Book SynopsisFor nearly a century, British expatriate Charles Joseph Finger (1867-1941) was best known as an award-winning author of children's literature. In Shared Secrets, Elizabeth Findley Shores relates Finger's untold story, exploring the secrets that connected the author to an international community of twentieth-century queer literati.As a young man, Finger reveled in the easy homosociality of his London polytechnical school, where he launched a student literary society in the mold of the city's private men's clubs. Throughout his life, as he wandered from England to Patagonia to the United States, he tried to recreate similarly open spaces-such as Gayeta, his artists' commune in Arkansas. But it was through his idiosyncratic magazine All's Well that he constructed his most successful social network, writing articles filled with coded signals and winking asides for the inner circle.Capitalizing on the publishing opportunities of the day, Finger used every means available to express his twin loves-literature and men. He produced an enormous body of work, and his short, semiautobiographical fiction won some critical acclaim. Ironically, the children's book he wrote to support his arcadian lifestyle won a Newbery Medal, ushering him into the public eye and ending his development as an author of serious queer literature.Shared Secrets is both the story of Finger's remarkable, adventurous life and a rare look at a community of gay writers and artists who helped shaped twentieth-century American culture, even as they artfully concealed their own identities.Trade ReviewFor those who may recognize Charles J. Finger only as a name from a list of early Newbery Medal winners, this scrupulously researched biography by Elizabeth Findley Shores will be a revelation. Shared Secrets places the peripatetic author of Tales from Silver Lands—who described himself as ‘one of the odd type, blood brother to other literary wanderers’—in the company of Jack London and other writers whose lives (and parallel lives) loomed as large as their works. Shores illuminates the complexities and coding of the late-Victorian and early twentieth-century queer world, presenting her subject as fully, triumphantly human." —William B. Jones, author of Classics Illustrated: A Cultural History"An engaging, well-written, and important biography of a figure largely neglected in literary studies, despite his stature, influence, and enormous collection of works." —Michael P. Bibler, author of Cotton’s Queer Relations: Same-Sex Intimacy and the Literature of the Southern Plantation, 1936–1968

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Book SynopsisEvery twenty-or thirty-something women knows these books. The pink covers, the flimsy paper, the zillion volumes in the series that kept you reading for your entire adolescence.Spurred by the commerical success of Sweet Valley High and the Babysitters Club, these paperbacks were cheap, short, and utterly beloved. Paperback Crush revists this golden age with affection and just a little snark. Readers will discover (and fondly remember) girl-centric series on everything from correspondence (Pen Pals and Dear Diary) to sports (Cheerleaders and The Gymnasts) to a newspaper at an all-girls Orthodox Jewish middle school (The B.Y Times) to a literal teen angel (Teen Angels: Heaven Can Wait). Some were bllatant rip-offs of successful series (Sleepover Friends), some were sick-lit tear-jerkers (Abby, My Love) and some were plain perplexing (Uncle Vampire?)? But all of them represent that time gone by of girl power and sustained silent reading.Trade Review“Gabrielle Moss pays homage to the pastel-tinted golden years between Judy Blume and J.K. Rowling.”—The Washington Post “A love letter to and analysis of the books that an entire generation read voraciously.”— Buzzfeed News “A researched and nostalgic look back at what made the genre so successful, from cover art and feminist themes to fan favorite authors and publishers.”—Chicago Tribune“A history lesson, sociological study, and nostalgia trip in one.”—Hello Giggles “A nostalgic and hilarious tour through teen bookshelves and the Golden Age of YA literature.”—Bitch Media“Remember the days of The Baby-Sitters Club, Sweet Valley High, and The Saddle Club? If not, Paperback Crush will jog your memory in the loveliest possible way.”—Brit + Co “Writer Gabrielle Moss has a chatty, let's-dish tone that works well for this trip down nostalgia road.”— Deseret News “A humorous and nostalgic ode to favorite YA series of the era, from The Baby-Sitters Club, Sweet Valley High, and beyond.”—Publishers Weekly“Part history, part snark, part love letter to the past, Paperback Crush is the hilarious pop culture history book millennial readers have been waiting for.”—Bustle“YA history buffs and academics alike will want to read, reminisce, and chuckle through this fun and well-done work.”—School Library Journal, Starred Review“Moss' lovingly snarky writing style will fuel former teen-girl paperback readers' appreciation, and the 1980s-style graphic design adds to the nostalgia.”—Booklist “Reading the book is like having a conversation with a close friend with a shared obsession for young adult literature.”—Foreword Reviews“Paperback Crush: The Totally Radical History of '80s and '90s Teen Fiction filters the Rosebuds of Moss's literary innocence through the bright lens of experience.”—The Amazon Book Review“This is not your typical history of fiction book, as it is funny, quirky, self-deprecating, and just downright fun.”—Geeks of Doom“A deep retrospective of teen romance novels of the ’80s, ’90’s, and early ’00s.”— Geek.com

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Book SynopsisSamuel Johnson’s life was situated within a rich social and intellectual community of friendships—and antagonisms. Community and Solitude is a collection of ten essays that explore relationships between Johnson and several of his main contemporaries—including James Boswell, Edmund Burke, Frances Burney, Robert Chambers, Oliver Goldsmith, Bennet Langton, Arthur Murphy, Richard Savage, Anna Seward, and Thomas Warton—and analyzes some of the literary productions emanating from the pressures within those relationships. In their detailed and careful examination of particular works situated within complex social and personal contexts, the essays in this volume offer a “thick” and illuminating description of Johnson’s world that also engages with larger cultural and aesthetic issues, such as intertextuality, literary celebrity, narrative, the nature of criticism, race, slavery, and sensibility.Contributors: Christopher Catanese, James Caudle, Marilyn Francus, Christine Jackson-Holzberg, Claudia Thomas Kairoff, Elizabeth Lambert, Anthony W. Lee, James E. May, John Radner, and Lance Wilcox. Published by Bucknell University Press. Distributed worldwide by Rutgers University Press.Trade Review"This volume of essays advances the field not only because it focuses on a new topic but also because of the patient and imaginative analysis in the various essays. The audience here extends beyond Johnsonians because so many other figures of interest are included, from Frances Burney, Burke, Warton, Seward, and Arthur Murphy to Goldsmith and of course Boswell." -- Steven Lynn * University of South Carolina *"An invaluable, erudite, thoughtful and thought-provoking contribution to the study of Samuel Johnson's life, philosophy, and literary work, Community and Solitude: New Essays on Johnson's Circle is an extraordinary body of informative and deftly scripted scholarship." * Midwest Book Review *"The scholarship is of a consistently high level, and the prose is clear and well edited. Community and Solitude provides a salutary reminder that authorship is not always the solitary activity that many people assume. Recommend." * Choice *"This collection of ten essays begins with three solid essays, all making good use of correspondence." * Eighteenth-Century Intelligencer *"Lee, as editor, sets out to counterbalance Johnson’s need for solitude to accomplish his literary works with his at times almost desperate search for company to alleviate his periods of despair and disillusion. How could someone with such a sociable character and love of conversation succeed in creating such a corpus of work that within its pages we can find epithets suitable for most occasions in life?" * The New Rambler *"These essays, well presented in this volume by Bucknell University Press, bring context, color, and an array of information that should prove of value to students and scholars of Johnson’s expansive circle." * Eighteenth-Century Studies *"The book uses...discussions to provide an engaging illustration of time, place, and character for a wide audience. For scholars who know Boswell’s biography and eighteenth-century London well, the book offers primarily a useful synthesis of biographies and cultural history." * Eighteenth-Century Fiction *"As a monograph designed for considering the historical interconnectedness in readings of literature, history, and culture, Community and Solitude, part of Bucknell University Press's Transits series, accomplishes its goal with welcome fidelity." * The Scriblerian and the Kit-Cats *"This volume of essays advances the field not only because it focuses on a new topic but also because of the patient and imaginative analysis in the various essays. The audience here extends beyond Johnsonians because so many other figures of interest are included, from Frances Burney, Burke, Warton, Seward, and Arthur Murphy to Goldsmith and of course Boswell." -- Steven Lynn * University of South Carolina *"An invaluable, erudite, thoughtful and thought-provoking contribution to the study of Samuel Johnson's life, philosophy, and literary work, Community and Solitude: New Essays on Johnson's Circle is an extraordinary body of informative and deftly scripted scholarship." * Midwest Book Review *"The scholarship is of a consistently high level, and the prose is clear and well edited. Community and Solitude provides a salutary reminder that authorship is not always the solitary activity that many people assume. Recommend." * Choice *"This collection of ten essays begins with three solid essays, all making good use of correspondence." * Eighteenth-Century Intelligencer *"Lee, as editor, sets out to counterbalance Johnson’s need for solitude to accomplish his literary works with his at times almost desperate search for company to alleviate his periods of despair and disillusion. How could someone with such a sociable character and love of conversation succeed in creating such a corpus of work that within its pages we can find epithets suitable for most occasions in life?" * The New Rambler *"These essays, well presented in this volume by Bucknell University Press, bring context, color, and an array of information that should prove of value to students and scholars of Johnson’s expansive circle." * Eighteenth-Century Studies *"The book uses...discussions to provide an engaging illustration of time, place, and character for a wide audience. For scholars who know Boswell’s biography and eighteenth-century London well, the book offers primarily a useful synthesis of biographies and cultural history." * Eighteenth-Century Fiction *"As a monograph designed for considering the historical interconnectedness in readings of literature, history, and culture, Community and Solitude, part of Bucknell University Press's Transits series, accomplishes its goal with welcome fidelity." * The Scriblerian and the Kit-Cats *Table of Contents List of Tables… vAbbreviations … vi Introduction ... 1Part I. Personal Relationships: Letters and Conversation ... 11 One Connecting with Three “Young Dogs”: Johnson’s Early Letters to Robert Chambers, Bennet Langton, and James Boswell ... 12John Radner Two James Elphinston and Samuel Johnson: Contact, Irritations, and an “Argonautic” Letter ... 44Christine Jackson-Holzberg Three The Case of the Missing Hottentot: John Dun’s Conversation with Samuel Johnson in Tour to the Hebrides as Reported by Boswell and Dun ... 79James CaudlePart II. Literary Relationships: Major Texts and Topics ... 118 Four Oliver Goldsmith’s Revisions to The Traveller ... 119James E. May Five “Down with her, Burney!”: Johnson, Burney, and the Politics of Literary Celebrity ... 165Marilyn Francus Six In the First Circle: The Four Narrators of the Life of Savage ... 205Lance Wilcox Seven “Under the shade of exalted merit”: Arthur Murphy’s A Poetical Epistle to Mr. Samuel Johnson, A.M. ... 236Anthony W. Lee Eight Johnson, Burke, Boswell, and the Slavery Debate ... 258Elizabeth Lambert Nine Samuel Johnson and Anna Seward: Solitude and Sensibility ... 295Claudia Thomas Kairoff Ten Johnson, Warton, and the Popular Reader ... 331Christopher CataneseAcknowledgments... 358Bibliography ... 360Index ... 389About the Contributors ... 390

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Book SynopsisIn its early transition to democracy following Franco’s death in 1975, Spain rapidly embraced neoliberal practices and policies, some of which directly impacted cultural production. In a few short years, the country commercialized its art and literary markets, investing in “cultural tourism” as a tool for economic growth and urban renewal. The artist novel began to proliferate for the first time in a century, but these novels—about artists and art historians—have received little critical attention beyond the descriptive. In Between Market and Myth, Vater studies select authors—Julio Llamazares, Ángeles Caso, Clara Usón, Almudena Grandes, Nieves Herrero, Paloma Díaz-Mas, Lourdes Ortiz, and Enrique Vila-Matas—whose largely realist novels portray a clash between the myth of artistic freedom and artists’ willing recruitment or cooptation by market forces or political influence. Today, in an era of rising globalization, the artist novel proves ideal for examining authors' ambivalent notions of creative practice when political patronage and private sector investment complicate belief in artistic autonomy. Published by Bucknell University Press. Distributed worldwide by Rutgers University Press. Trade Review"Between Market and Myth covers a fascinating topic which allows for the exploration of questions central to the cultural production of the period and of the changing, at times contradictory, role of the artist. The topic is exciting and timely, and Vater presents a provocative frame for the discussion." -- Elizabeth Drumm * author of Painting on Stage: Visual Art in Twentieth-Century Spanish Theater *"The book makes a compelling case for the effects that neoliberalism has on cultural capital and supports its convincing argument with an all-encompassing literary analysis that masterfully interprets the primary texts in their historical and geographical context." * Hispania *"Is the value of an artist and her product intrinsic or extrinsic to society? Katie Vater’s intriguing study engages this question through an analysis of several Spanish literary works produced between 1992 and 2014." * Bulletin of Spanish Studies *"Between Market and Myth covers a fascinating topic which allows for the exploration of questions central to the cultural production of the period and of the changing, at times contradictory, role of the artist. The topic is exciting and timely, and Vater presents a provocative frame for the discussion." -- Elizabeth Drumm * author of Painting on Stage: Visual Art in Twentieth-Century Spanish Theater *"The book makes a compelling case for the effects that neoliberalism has on cultural capital and supports its convincing argument with an all-encompassing literary analysis that masterfully interprets the primary texts in their historical and geographical context." * Hispania *"Is the value of an artist and her product intrinsic or extrinsic to society? Katie Vater’s intriguing study engages this question through an analysis of several Spanish literary works produced between 1992 and 2014." * Bulletin of Spanish Studies *Table of Contents Acknowledgements Introduction 1 The Weight of Fame: Memory in Two Contemporary Künstlerromane by Ángeles Caso and Julio Llamazares 2 The Postfeminist Turn in the Artist Novel by Women: The Case of Almudena Grandes, Clara Usón, and Nieves Herrero 3 The Art Historian as Neoliberal Subject in Lourdes Ortiz’s Las manos de Velázquez and Paloma Díaz-Mas’s El sueño de Venecia 4 Affiliation Anxiety: Avant-Garde Identity at dOCUMENTA(13) in Enrique Vila-Matas’s Kassel no invita la lógica Conclusion Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisWriting Lives in the Eighteenth Century is a collection of essays on memoir, biography, and autobiography during a formative period for the genre. The essays revolve around recognized male and female figures—returning to the Boswell and Burney circle—but present arguments that dismantle traditional privileging of biographical modes. The contributors reconsider the processes of hero making in the beginning phases of a culture of celebrity. Employing the methodology William Godwin outlined for novelists of taking material “from all sources, experience, report, and the records of human affairs,” each contributor examines within the contexts of their time and historical traditions the anxieties and imperatives of the auto/biographer as she or he shapes material into a legacy. New work on Frances Burney D’Arblay’s son, Alexander, as revealed through letters; on Isabelle de Charriere; on Hester Thrale Piozzi; and on Alicia LeFanu and Frances Burney’s realignment of family biography extend current conversations about eighteenth century biography and autobiography. Published by Bucknell University Press. Distributed worldwide by Rutgers University Press. Trade Review"Rich and thought-provoking, Writing Lives in the Eighteenth Century offers fresh perspectives on figures at the centre of studies of eighteenth-century life writing, including James Boswell and Frances Burney, and engages them in a fascinating dialogue with less prominent writers, such as Isabelle de Charrière and Alicia LeFanu. The essays are deeply knowledgeable, elegantly written, and pose important questions for studies of the genre. Collectively, they will be of significant value to scholars of eighteenth-century literature and life writing." -- Amy Culley * author of British Women’s Life Writing, 1760-1840: Friendship, Community, and Collaboration *"Writing Lives in the Eighteenth Century offers a rich and expansive collection of essays by accomplished scholars, demonstrating how underserved the topic of life writing has been in the field that, arguably, invented its modern form." -- Laura Rosenthal * author of Nightwalkers: Prostitute Narratives from the Eighteenth Century *"Rich and thought-provoking, Writing Lives in the Eighteenth Century offers fresh perspectives on figures at the centre of studies of eighteenth-century life writing, including James Boswell and Frances Burney, and engages them in a fascinating dialogue with less prominent writers, such as Isabelle de Charrière and Alicia LeFanu. The essays are deeply knowledgeable, elegantly written, and pose important questions for studies of the genre. Collectively, they will be of significant value to scholars of eighteenth-century literature and life writing." -- Amy Culley * author of British Women’s Life Writing, 1760-1840: Friendship, Community, and Collaboration *"Writing Lives in the Eighteenth Century offers a rich and expansive collection of essays by accomplished scholars, demonstrating how underserved the topic of life writing has been in the field that, arguably, invented its modern form." -- Laura Rosenthal * author of Nightwalkers: Prostitute Narratives from the Eighteenth Century *Table of ContentsIntroduction: The Art of Writing Lives Tanya Caldwell Chapter 1: Dr. Johnson’s Apology for the Married Life of Hester Thrale’: Hester Lynch Piozzi’s Letters to and from the Late Samuel Johnson LLD Lisa Berglund Chapter 2: The Education of Alexander d’Arblay: “The Idol of the World” Peter Sabor Chapter 3: Trying to Set the Record Straight: Alicia LeFanu, Frances Burney D’Arblay, and the Limits of Family Biography Marilyn Francus Chapter 4: The Life of Isabelle de Charrière: ‘Written by Herself’ Victoria Warren Chapter 5: Clashes of conversations in James Boswell’s Hebrides and Life of Johnson and ‘My Firm Regard to Authenticity’ James J. Caudle Chpater 6: Charles Burney’s Handel Reconsidered Todd Gilman Acknowledgements Bibliography Notes on Contributors Index

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Book SynopsisLaurence Sterne’s A Sentimental Journey through France and Italy continues to be as widely read and admired as upon its first appearance. Deemed more accessible than Sterne’s Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, and often assigned as a college text, A Sentimental Journey has received its share of critical attention, but—unlike Tristram Shandy—to date it has not been the subject of a dedicated anthology of critical essays. This volume fills that gap with fresh perspectives on Sterne’s novel that will appeal to students and critics alike. Together with an introduction that situates each essay within A Sentimental Journey’s reception history, and a tailpiece detailing the culmination of Sterne’s career and his death, this volume presents a cohesive approach to this significant text that is simultaneously grounded and revelatory.Trade Review"This collection brings together a group of distinguished Sterne scholars whose focus on the author’s final publication demonstrates the way new questions, new methodologies, new pairings, and new contexts can invigorate our understanding of Sterne, his world, and his work." -- Elizabeth Kraft * author of Laurence Sterne Revisited *"The prime virtue of this collection is that it combines more traditional literary approaches with more recent models of literary scholarship, influenced by affect theory, gender studies, animal studies, and thing theory. As such, it stands as a valuable snapshot of Sterne studies in the present." -- Jesse Molesworth * author of Chance and the Eighteenth-Century Novel: Realism, Probability, Magic *"A welcome addition to criticism on Sterne." * XVII-XVIII *"The strength of the resulting volume lies not only in the constituent essays, but also in the intelligence and creativity with which Newbould and Gerard have disposed and framed them, setting them in constantly illuminating conversation with one another. In their expert editorial hands, A Sentimental Journey has never looked so rich in imaginative implication and interpretative possibility." * The Shandean *"This collection brings together a group of distinguished Sterne scholars whose focus on the author’s final publication demonstrates the way new questions, new methodologies, new pairings, and new contexts can invigorate our understanding of Sterne, his world, and his work." -- Elizabeth Kraft * author of Laurence Sterne Revisited *"The prime virtue of this collection is that it combines more traditional literary approaches with more recent models of literary scholarship, influenced by affect theory, gender studies, animal studies, and thing theory. As such, it stands as a valuable snapshot of Sterne studies in the present." -- Jesse Molesworth * author of Chance and the Eighteenth-Century Novel: Realism, Probability, Magic *"A welcome addition to criticism on Sterne." * XVII-XVIII *"The strength of the resulting volume lies not only in the constituent essays, but also in the intelligence and creativity with which Newbould and Gerard have disposed and framed them, setting them in constantly illuminating conversation with one another. In their expert editorial hands, A Sentimental Journey has never looked so rich in imaginative implication and interpretative possibility." * The Shandean *Table of ContentsList of Illustrations Abbreviations and Conventions W. B. Gerard and M-C. Newbould, “Introduction: A Sentimental Journey’s Critical Legacies.” I. Men, Women, and other Animals 1. Shaun Regan, “Refining Masculinity in Yorick’s Journey: Courtesy, Chivalry, Gallantry.” 2. Julia Banister, “Yorick’s War: Patriot Politics, Military Men, and Willing Women in A Sentimental Journey.” 3. Glynis Ridley, “Sterne’s Journey into Animal Affect.” II. Words, Structures, Things 4. Chris Ewers, “Spatial Digression and the Borders of Knowledge in A Sentimental Journey.” 5. Alexander Hardie-Forsyth, “(O)economy and Order: Laurence Sterne’s Chaptering.” 6. Fraser Easton, "Yorick's Speech and the Starling's Song: The Limits of Elocution in A Sentimental Journey" 7. Jennifer Preston Wilson, “Things of the Spirit: Vibrant Matter in A Sentimental Journey.” III. Historical Contexts, Rewritten Texts 8. Melvyn New, “Boswell and Sterne in 1768.” 9. Peter Budrin, “The Shadow of Eliza: Sterne’s Underplot in A Sentimental Journey.” 10. Paul Goring, “Debt, Death, and Literary Inheritance: The Ends of Sterne and A Sentimental Journey.” Pat Rogers, “Afterword” Acknowledgments Works Cited and Selected Bibliography Index About the Contributors

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Book SynopsisSince the appearance of her first novel, The Country Girls, in 1960—a book that undermined the nation’s ideal of innocent and pious Irish girlhood­—Edna O’Brien has provoked controversy in her native Ireland and abroad. Indeed, several of her early novels were condemned by church authorities and banned by the Irish government for their frank portrayals of sexual matters and the inner lives of women. Now an internationally acclaimed writer, O’Brien must be critically reassessed for a twenty-first century audience. Edna O’Brien and the Art of Fiction provides an urgent retrospective consideration of one of the English-speaking world’s best-selling and most prolific contemporary authors. Drawing on O’Brien’s fiction as well as archival material, and applying new theoretical approaches—including ecocritical and feminist new materialist readings—this study considers the pioneering and enduring ways O’Brien represents women’s experience, family relationships, the natural world, sex, creativity, and death, and her work’s long anticipation of contemporary movements such as #metoo.Trade Review"In this meticulous, forensic, and illuminating work of scholarship, Dr. O'Connor sets the benchmark for all future studies of one of Ireland's greatest writers. In what amounts to a powerful work of restorative justice, she establishes once and for all the high and deliberate guiding intelligence that animates O'Brien's work." -- Theo Dorgan * author of Orpheus *"This is a scholarly, sensitive, balanced exploration of the work of a great writer. It is beautifully written and very accessible. Maureen O’Connor has left no stone unturned in her painstaking research and the result is a wonderful book, indispensable for anyone with an interest in Edna O’Brien or contemporary Irish literature. Thank you, Maureen O’Connor!" -- Éilís Ní Dhuibhne * author of Little Red and Other Stories *"Readable yet theoretically sophisticated, this welcome new study offers an authoritative look at one of Ireland’s greatest—and historically most underappreciated—writers. O’Connor ranges comprehensively through O’Brien’s canon to trace her career-long feminist critique of Irish society's patriarchal mores. Both a history of O’Brien criticism and an examination of her work, O’Connor’s exciting study offers a forceful defense of O’Brien’s craft and an unapologetic critique of the social forces hampering the reception and interpretation of her canon. This study is destined to become required reading in O’Brien studies." -- Kathleen Costello-Sullivan * author of Trauma and Recovery in the Twenty-First-Century Irish Novel *“Maureen O’Connor nails once and (one hopes) for all the myth of Edna O’Brien as wailing Irish banshee. Instead O’Connor makes a scholarly and at the same time impassioned case for O’Brien as a serious, creative artist thoroughly cognizant of what she is about and decades ahead of her fellow Irish in her analysis of political, social, and environmental ills.” -- Heather Ingman * author of Irish Women's Fiction: From Edgeworth to Enright *“O’Connor’s close readings, coupled with a deft use of theory, nimbly move between texts in O’Brien’s oeuvre, highlighting recurring images and preoccupations, resulting in a valuable critical account that firmly illustrates O’Brien’s mastery as a writer; and asserts her as a figure in Irish literary culture deserving of continued attention.” * Irish University Review *"This is a scholarly, sensitive, balanced exploration of the work of a great writer. It is beautifully written and very accessible. Maureen O’Connor has left no stone unturned in her painstaking research and the result is a wonderful book, indispensable for anyone with an interest in Edna O’Brien or contemporary Irish literature. Thank you, Maureen O’Connor!" -- Éilís Ní Dhuibhne * author of Little Red and Other Stories *"Readable yet theoretically sophisticated, this welcome new study offers an authoritative look at one of Ireland’s greatest—and historically most underappreciated—writers. O’Connor ranges comprehensively through O’Brien’s canon to trace her career-long feminist critique of Irish society's patriarchal mores. Both a history of O’Brien criticism and an examination of her work, O’Connor’s exciting study offers a forceful defense of O’Brien’s craft and an unapologetic critique of the social forces hampering the reception and interpretation of her canon. This study is destined to become required reading in O’Brien studies." -- Kathleen Costello-Sullivan * author of Trauma and Recovery in the Twenty-First-Century Irish Novel *“Maureen O’Connor nails once and (one hopes) for all the myth of Edna O’Brien as wailing Irish banshee. Instead O’Connor makes a scholarly and at the same time impassioned case for O’Brien as a serious, creative artist thoroughly cognizant of what she is about and decades ahead of her fellow Irish in her analysis of political, social, and environmental ills.” -- Heather Ingman * author of Irish Women's Fiction: From Edgeworth to Enright *"In this meticulous, forensic, and illuminating work of scholarship, Dr. O'Connor sets the benchmark for all future studies of one of Ireland's greatest writers. In what amounts to a powerful work of restorative justice, she establishes once and for all the high and deliberate guiding intelligence that animates O'Brien's work." -- Theo Dorgan * author of Orpheus *Table of ContentsPreface and Acknowledgments Introduction: Edna O’Brien, Leader of the Banned 1 Anti-Oedipal Desires 2 The Liberating Sadomasochism of Things 3 The Ungrammatical Sublime 4 Otherworldly Possessions 5 Myth and Mutation 6 Disorder, Dirt, and Death Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisIn this innovative analysis of canonical British novels, Campbell identifies a new literary device—the surrogate family—as a signal of cultural anxieties about young women’s changing relationship to matrimony across the long eighteenth century. By assembling chosen families rather than families of origin, Campbell convincingly argues, female protagonists in these works compensate for weak family ties, explore the world and themselves, prepare for idealized marriages, or sidestep marriage altogether. Tracing the evolution of this rich convention from the female characters in Defoe’s and Richardson’s fiction who are allowed some autonomy in choosing spouses, to the more explicitly feminist work of Haywood and Burney, in which connections between protagonists and their surrogate sisters and mothers can substitute for marriage itself, this book makes an ambitious intervention by upending a traditional trope—the model of the hierarchal family—ultimately offering a new lens through which to regard these familiar works.Trade Review“Campbell opens our eyes to a revolution of choice taking place during the eighteenth century. This groundbreaking study of surrogate families in the novels of Defoe, Richardson, Haywood, and Burney highlights the changing dynamics of family and marital politics, influenced not by blood but by bond.”— Katherine Ellison, author of A Cultural History of Early Modern English Cryptography Manuals “Ann Campbell’s Families of the Heart is a richly detailed study that provides a nuanced examination of surrogate families in the novels of Defoe, Haywood, Richardson, and Burney. Campbell’s insights about the roles of these families in the marriage plots of these novels are generative for scholars of the period.”— Jennifer Golightly, author of The Family, Marriage, and Radicalism in British Women's Novels of the 1790s: Public Affection and Private Affliction (Bucknell University Press) “This study skillfully synthesizes, builds on, and extends, through careful close reading, existing scholarship on surrogate families. Careful textual analysis is supplemented by an array of contextual work, from Defoe’s didactic writing, to Richardson’s own epistles to his female friends, and Haywood’s periodicals. The novels under study, by Defoe, Richardson, Burney, and Haywood, are well selected and indicate not only broad changes over time but also, at times, the way authors experimented within their own corpus. Of particular note, is the perceptive reading of the way Richardson’s novels, in distinct and dynamic ways, experiment with familial configurations, moving towards a grand quasi-utopian vision of surrogate families in Sir Charles Grandison, one in which surrogate siblings become crucial to the intellectual and emotional development of main characters. Most valuable to this reader was the way in which this study reveals the way that women writers transformed inherited models of the surrogate family to create dynamic families who exist not merely to propel the female protagonist towards marriage but also to enhance the emotional and intellectual development of female characters, to encourage discernment in the selection of close advisers, and to demonstrate that women can live fulfilling lives regardless of circumstances. This close examination of ten novels provides a useful typology of surrogate families that is relevant both within and beyond the eighteenth century.”— Sharon Alker, coauthor of Besieged: Early Modern British Siege Literature, 1642-1722 “Ann Campbell’s Families of the Heart is a richly detailed study that provides a nuanced examination of surrogate families in the novels of Defoe, Haywood, Richardson, and Burney. Campbell’s insights about the roles of these families in the marriage plots of these novels are generative for scholars of the period.”— Jennifer Golightly, author of The Family, Marriage, and Radicalism in British Women's Novels of the 1790s: Public Affect “This study skillfully synthesizes, builds on, and extends, through careful close reading, existing scholarship on surrogate families. Careful textual analysis is supplemented by an array of contextual work, from Defoe’s didactic writing, to Richardson’s own epistles to his female friends, and Haywood’s periodicals. The novels under study, by Defoe, Richardson, Burney, and Haywood, are well selected and indicate not only broad changes over time but also, at times, the way authors experimented within their own corpus. Of particular note, is the perceptive reading of the way Richardson’s novels, in distinct and dynamic ways, experiment with familial configurations, moving towards a grand quasi-utopian vision of surrogate families in Sir Charles Grandison, one in which surrogate siblings become crucial to the intellectual and emotional development of main characters. Most valuable to this reader was the way in which this study reveals the way that women writers transformed inherited models of the surrogate family to create dynamic families who exist not merely to propel the female protagonist towards marriage but also to enhance the emotional and intellectual development of female characters, to encourage discernment in the selection of close advisers, and to demonstrate that women can live fulfilling lives regardless of circumstances. This close examination of ten novels provides a useful typology of surrogate families that is relevant both within and beyond the eighteenth century.”— Sharon Alker, coauthor of Besieged: Early Modern British Siege Literature, 1642-1722 “Campbell opens our eyes to a revolution of choice taking place during the eighteenth century. This groundbreaking study of surrogate families in the novels of Defoe, Richardson, Haywood, and Burney highlights the changing dynamics of family and marital politics, influenced not by blood but by bond.”— Katherine Ellison, author of A Cultural History of Early Modern English Cryptography ManualsTable of ContentsIntroduction 1 Just Business: Surrogate Families as Entrepreneurial Ventures in Daniel Defoe’s Moll Flanders and Roxana 2 Building a Foundation for the Family of the Heart: Prototypes of Surrogate Families in Samuel Richardson’s Pamela and Pamela in her Exalted Condition 3 Perfecting the Family of the Heart: Relationship Remembered in Richardson’s Clarissa and Sir Charles Grandison 4 An Affinity for Learning: Eliza Haywood’s The History of Miss Betsy Thoughtless and The History of Jemmy and Jenny Jessamy 5 Adopting to Change: Choosing Family in Frances Burney’s Evelina and Cecilia Conclusion Acknowledgments Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisIn this innovative analysis of canonical British novels, Campbell identifies a new literary device—the surrogate family—as a signal of cultural anxieties about young women’s changing relationship to matrimony across the long eighteenth century. By assembling chosen families rather than families of origin, Campbell convincingly argues, female protagonists in these works compensate for weak family ties, explore the world and themselves, prepare for idealized marriages, or sidestep marriage altogether. Tracing the evolution of this rich convention from the female characters in Defoe’s and Richardson’s fiction who are allowed some autonomy in choosing spouses, to the more explicitly feminist work of Haywood and Burney, in which connections between protagonists and their surrogate sisters and mothers can substitute for marriage itself, this book makes an ambitious intervention by upending a traditional trope—the model of the hierarchal family—ultimately offering a new lens through which to regard these familiar works.Trade Review“Campbell opens our eyes to a revolution of choice taking place during the eighteenth century. This groundbreaking study of surrogate families in the novels of Defoe, Richardson, Haywood, and Burney highlights the changing dynamics of family and marital politics, influenced not by blood but by bond.”— Katherine Ellison, author of A Cultural History of Early Modern English Cryptography Manuals “Ann Campbell’s Families of the Heart is a richly detailed study that provides a nuanced examination of surrogate families in the novels of Defoe, Haywood, Richardson, and Burney. Campbell’s insights about the roles of these families in the marriage plots of these novels are generative for scholars of the period.”— Jennifer Golightly, author of The Family, Marriage, and Radicalism in British Women's Novels of the 1790s: Public Affection and Private Affliction (Bucknell University Press) “This study skillfully synthesizes, builds on, and extends, through careful close reading, existing scholarship on surrogate families. Careful textual analysis is supplemented by an array of contextual work, from Defoe’s didactic writing, to Richardson’s own epistles to his female friends, and Haywood’s periodicals. The novels under study, by Defoe, Richardson, Burney, and Haywood, are well selected and indicate not only broad changes over time but also, at times, the way authors experimented within their own corpus. Of particular note, is the perceptive reading of the way Richardson’s novels, in distinct and dynamic ways, experiment with familial configurations, moving towards a grand quasi-utopian vision of surrogate families in Sir Charles Grandison, one in which surrogate siblings become crucial to the intellectual and emotional development of main characters. Most valuable to this reader was the way in which this study reveals the way that women writers transformed inherited models of the surrogate family to create dynamic families who exist not merely to propel the female protagonist towards marriage but also to enhance the emotional and intellectual development of female characters, to encourage discernment in the selection of close advisers, and to demonstrate that women can live fulfilling lives regardless of circumstances. This close examination of ten novels provides a useful typology of surrogate families that is relevant both within and beyond the eighteenth century.”— Sharon Alker, coauthor of Besieged: Early Modern British Siege Literature, 1642-1722 “Campbell opens our eyes to a revolution of choice taking place during the eighteenth century. This groundbreaking study of surrogate families in the novels of Defoe, Richardson, Haywood, and Burney highlights the changing dynamics of family and marital politics, influenced not by blood but by bond.”— Katherine Ellison, author of A Cultural History of Early Modern English Cryptography Manuals “Ann Campbell’s Families of the Heart is a richly detailed study that provides a nuanced examination of surrogate families in the novels of Defoe, Haywood, Richardson, and Burney. Campbell’s insights about the roles of these families in the marriage plots of these novels are generative for scholars of the period.”— Jennifer Golightly, author of The Family, Marriage, and Radicalism in British Women's Novels of the 1790s: Public Affect “This study skillfully synthesizes, builds on, and extends, through careful close reading, existing scholarship on surrogate families. Careful textual analysis is supplemented by an array of contextual work, from Defoe’s didactic writing, to Richardson’s own epistles to his female friends, and Haywood’s periodicals. The novels under study, by Defoe, Richardson, Burney, and Haywood, are well selected and indicate not only broad changes over time but also, at times, the way authors experimented within their own corpus. Of particular note, is the perceptive reading of the way Richardson’s novels, in distinct and dynamic ways, experiment with familial configurations, moving towards a grand quasi-utopian vision of surrogate families in Sir Charles Grandison, one in which surrogate siblings become crucial to the intellectual and emotional development of main characters. Most valuable to this reader was the way in which this study reveals the way that women writers transformed inherited models of the surrogate family to create dynamic families who exist not merely to propel the female protagonist towards marriage but also to enhance the emotional and intellectual development of female characters, to encourage discernment in the selection of close advisers, and to demonstrate that women can live fulfilling lives regardless of circumstances. This close examination of ten novels provides a useful typology of surrogate families that is relevant both within and beyond the eighteenth century.”— Sharon Alker, coauthor of Besieged: Early Modern British Siege Literature, 1642-1722Table of ContentsIntroduction 1 Just Business: Surrogate Families as Entrepreneurial Ventures in Daniel Defoe’s Moll Flanders and Roxana 2 Building a Foundation for the Family of the Heart: Prototypes of Surrogate Families in Samuel Richardson’s Pamela and Pamela in her Exalted Condition 3 Perfecting the Family of the Heart: Relationship Remembered in Richardson’s Clarissa and Sir Charles Grandison 4 An Affinity for Learning: Eliza Haywood’s The History of Miss Betsy Thoughtless and The History of Jemmy and Jenny Jessamy 5 Adopting to Change: Choosing Family in Frances Burney’s Evelina and Cecilia Conclusion Acknowledgments Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisWhat is Nigel Farage's favourite novel? Why do Brexiteers love Sherlock Holmes? Is Philip Larkin the best Brexit poet ever? Through the politically relevant side-road of English literature, John Sutherland quarries the great literary minds of English history to assemble the ultimate reading list for Brexiteers. What happened to Britain on 24 June 2016 shook the country to its roots. The Brexit vote changed Britain. But despite its referendum victory, Brexit is peculiarly hollow. It is an idea without political apparatus, without sustaining history, without field-tested ideology. Without thinkers. It is like Frankenstein waiting for the lightning bolt. In this irreverent and entertaining new guide, Sutherland suggests some stuffing for the ideological vacuity at the heart of the Brexit cause. He looks for jingoistic meaning in the works of William Shakespeare, Jane Austen and Thomas Hardy, in modern classics like The Queen and I and London Fields, and in the national anthem, school songs and great poetry of the country. Sutherland explores what Britain meant, means and will mean, and subtly shows how great literary works have a shaping influence on the world. Witty and insightful, and with a preface by John Crace, this book belongs on the shelves of all good, bragging Brexiteers and many diehard Remoaners too.

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Book SynopsisThis is a book about the life and work of a singular writer, known for his biographies and travel writing but most famous for his novels The Red and the Black and the Charterhouse of Parma. As a child, Stendhal witnessed the unfolding of the French Revolution; as a young man, he served Napoleon first as a soldier and then as an administrator; and, as a middle-aged man, he made it his task not to pursue his career, but instead to take as much paid leave as possible in order to be free and to be happy, and to write. Stendhal's works often take the form of conversations with his readers - the `Happy Few' as he called them - about the things that matter most. He once claimed that he spent the majority of his life `carefully considering five or six main ideas'. This book shows what those main ideas were, why they mattered to Stendhal, and why they continue to matter to his readers.

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Book SynopsisBorn in Buenos Aires in 1899, Jorge Luis Borges was a voracious reader from childhood, perhaps in part because he knew he lived under a sentence of adult-onset blindness inherited from his father. This title chronicles Borges' life, charting the literary friendships, love affairs and polemical writings that formed the foundation of his youth.

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Book SynopsisIf it is true that great art comes from great suffering, then the art of Fyodor Dostoevsky (1821 - 81) must be truly great indeed. The second of seven children, he developed epilepsy and was ruled over by a drunken, violent father. From this harsh childhood, to his brief forays in the army, through the years of exile and imprisonment in Siberia, Dostoevsky's troubled life shaped his character and art in profound ways. Robert Bird traces Dostoevsky's path from a political revolutionary to one who fought his battles through the printed word. Bird describes how Dostoevsky came into contact with the poor and oppressed who attended the Mariinsky Hospital for the Poor in Moscow, where his father practiced medicine, and how Dostoevsky was to champion the downtrodden throughout his career. He outlines the years Dostoevsky spent in prison after his arrest and near-execution in 1849, and how these experiences, in combination with his difficult childhood, epileptic seizures, religious and political views, contributed to the writing of acclaimed novels such as Crime and Punishment (1867). The author also describes how Dostoevsky's craving for social justice and 'quest for form' spurred his literary achievements. Writers such as Ernest Hemingway, James Joyce and Virginia Wolfe admired and praised Dostoevsky, and he is often acknowledged as one of the pre-eminent psychologists in literature - the parricide in The Brothers Karamazov even attracted the attention of Sigmund Freud. Fyodor Dostoevsky will fascinate all lovers of literature and Russian history.

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Book SynopsisKing of the Hill is A. E. Hotchner's memoir of his impoverished childhood in St. Louis, originally published in 1972. Hotchner's story is one of ingenuity and spirit in the face of economic hardship during the Great Depression. Left to live alone in a rundown hotel while his traveling salesman father is on the road, his mother is hospitalized, and his younger brother is sent to live with relatives, young Hotchner's determination to survive overcomes the challenge of keeping his situation secret. ""Looking for Miracles"" is a sequel to ""King of the Hill"", originally published in 1975. The story takes place in 1936, three years after ""King of the Hill"", when Hotchner bluffs his way into a job as a summer counselor at a camp in the Ozarks. The story is poignant and uplifting, as well as hilariously entertaining. Bound together for the first time, these two boyhood memoirs of Hotchner's will touch readers with their truth, innocence, and joy. Hotchner's ability to convey times of intense hardship in warm and witty language attests to his stature as one of America's great storytellers.

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Book SynopsisFrom the girl in Red Cloud, who oversaw the construction of a miniature town called Sandy Point in her backyard, to the New Woman on a bicycle, celebrating art and castigating political abuse in Lincoln newspapers, to the aspiring novelist in New York City, committed to creation and career, Daryl W. Palmer's ground-breaking literary biography offers a provocative new look at Willa Cather's evolution as a writer.Willa Cather has long been admired for O Pioneers! (1913), Song of the Lark (1915), and My Ántonia (1918)—the "prairie novels" about the lives of early Nebraska pioneers that launched her career. Thanks in part to these masterpieces, she is often viewed as a representative of pioneer life on the Great Plains, a controversial innovator in American modernism, and a compelling figure in the literary history of LGBTQ America. A century later, scholars acknowledge Cather's place in the canon of American literature and continue to explore her relationship with the West.Drawing on original archival research and paying unprecedented attention to the Cather's early short stories, Palmer demonstrates that the relationship with Nebraska in the years leading up to O Pioneers! is more dynamic than critics and scholars thought. Readers will encounter a surprisingly bold young author whose youth in Nebraska was a kind of laboratory for her future writing career. Becoming Willa Cather changes the way we think about Cather, a brilliant and ambitious author who embraced experimentation in life and art, intent on reimagining the American West.Trade ReviewI cannot think of any Cather volume quite like this one. It is a welcome and innovative contribution to the existing literature. This book will appeal to the broad cross-section of committed lay readers as well as to practicing scholars." - Timothy W. Bintrim, Professor of English, Saint Francis University"Becoming Willa Cather sets out to account for Willa Cather's emergence as a major figure in American writing in the first half of the twentieth century—in recent years it has become clear that she is arguably the preeminent novelist of the 1920s and 1930s, and perhaps the first half of the twentieth century. Only Faulkner contends with her. Throughout, the book demonstrates that the West generally, and Nebraska particularly, was crucial to Cather's emergence as the significant writer she became. Particularly prominent in Becoming Willa Cather are analyses of Cather's early short stories and also some of her poetry, work that has been either unevenly considered (the stories) or almost completely neglected (the poetry) by critics." - Dana Professor of Canadian Studies & English Emeritus, St. Lawrence UniversityTable of Contents Introduction Chapter 1. Red Cloud and the "Real West": Mapping Willa Cather's Territorial Imagination Chapter 2 Writing the West Otherwise: The Short Stories of the First Decade, 1892-1902 Chapter 3. The Road from April Twilights into the Far Country Chapter 4. "a ride through a familiar country": The Different Process of O Pioneers! and the Emergence of Willa Cather Chapter 5. Emergence, Experimentation, and Evolution: The Song of the Lark, My Ántonia, and the Fiction that Followed Out West A Note on Texts and Abbreviations Works Cited Acknowledgments About the Author

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Book SynopsisAnalyzing the way that recent works of graphic narrative use the comics form to engage with the “problem” of reproduction, Shiamin Kwa’s Perfect Copies reminds us that the mode of production and the manner in which we perceive comics are often quite similar to the stories they tell. Perfect Copies considers the dual notions of reproduction, mechanical as well as biological, and explores how comics are works of reproduction that embed questions about the nature of reproduction itself. Through close readings of the comics My Favorite Thing Is Monsters by Emil Ferris, The Black Project by Gareth Brookes, The Generous Bosom series by Conor Stechschulte, Sabrina by Nick Drnaso, and Panther by Brecht Evens, Perfect Copies shows how these comics makers push the limits of different ideas of “reproduction” in strikingly different ways. Kwa suggests that reading and thinking about books like these, that push us to engage with these complicated questions, teaches us how to become better readers.Trade Review“Perfect Copies is about the creation and impact of comics that skirt the line of what readers might imagine would be considered typical within the medium. This book pushes readers to think about the ways that comics creators nudge the boundaries of how comics might look, "read" and visually "feel.” It is a must read for everyone who loves the ways that comics have revolutionized art and aesthetics and that art has revolutionized comics and notions of reproduction.”— Rachel Marie-Crane Williams, Dean of Liberal Arts, UNC School of The ArtsTable of ContentsIntroduction 1 The People Upstairs: Space, Memory, and the Queered Family in My Favorite Thing Is Monsters 2 Reach Out and Touch Someone: The Haptic Dreams of Gareth Brookes 3 Phantom Threads: Seeing in the Dark and Conor Stechschulte 4 If You See Something Say Something: Nick Drnaso’s Sabrina 5 There is a Monster in My Closet: Brecht Evens’s Panther Conclusion Acknowledgments Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisGiven the current moment—polarized populations, increasing climate fears, and decline of supranational institutions in favor of a rising tide of nationalisms—it is easy to understand the proliferation of apocalyptic and dystopian elements in popular culture. Infected Empires examines one of the most popular figures in contemporary apocalyptic film: the zombie. This harbinger of apocalypse reveals bloody truths about the human condition, the wounds of history, and methods of contending with them. Infected Empires considers parallels in the zombie genre to historical and current events on different political, theological and philosophical levels, and proposes that the zombie can be read as a figure of decolonization and an allegory of resistance to oppressive structures that racialize, marginalize, disable, and dispose of bodies. Studying films from around the world, including Latin America, Asia, Africa, the US, and Europe, Infected Empires presents a vision of a global zombie that points toward a posthuman and feminist future. Trade Review"A brilliant cartography of the zombie film, elegantly crafted, theoretically informed and ambitious in its transnational sweep and decolonial focus." -- Cynthia Steele * author of Politics, Gender, and the Mexican Novel, 1968-1988 *"A fascinating and rigorous study that invites us to analyze our dreams and fears, the contemporary effects of global power and coloniality, necropolitics, today’s structures of oppression, and certainly the very essence of our own humanity. Patricia Saldarriaga and Emy Manini have written a book on zombies that will stand the test of time; their reading decolonizes and queers identity, the present, the future, horror fiction, and most definitely: our understanding of history." -- Oswaldo Estrada * author of Troubled Memories: Iconic Mexican Women and the Traps of Representation *The Page 99 Test: ?Patricia Saldarriaga and Emy Manini's "Infected Empires" * The Page 99 Test *"A brilliant cartography of the zombie film, elegantly crafted, theoretically informed and ambitious in its transnational sweep and decolonial focus." -- Cynthia Steele * author of Politics, Gender, and the Mexican Novel, 1968-1988 *"A fascinating and rigorous study that invites us to analyze our dreams and fears, the contemporary effects of global power and coloniality, necropolitics, today’s structures of oppression, and certainly the very essence of our own humanity. Patricia Saldarriaga and Emy Manini have written a book on zombies that will stand the test of time; their reading decolonizes and queers identity, the present, the future, horror fiction, and most definitely: our understanding of history." -- Oswaldo Estrada * author of Troubled Memories: Iconic Mexican Women and the Traps of Representation *The Page 99 Test: Patricia Saldarriaga and Emy Manini's "Infected Empires" * The Page 99 Test *Table of ContentsIntroduction Chapter 1: What is a Zombie? Chapter 2: Mutilate the State! Nation Race, Power Chapter 3: Devouring Capitalism Chapter 4: Bodies that Splatter. Queering and Cripping Zombies Chapter 5: Of Matter, Dust, and Earth: Zombies and the Environment Conclusions

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Book SynopsisCritical studies of the graphic novel have often employed methodologies taken from film theory and art criticism. Yet, as graphic novels from Maus to Watchmen have entered the literary canon, perhaps the time has come to develop theories for interpreting and evaluating graphic novels that are drawn from classic models of literary theory and criticism. Using the methodology of Georg Lukács and his detailed defense of literary realism as a socially embedded practice, Litcomix tackles difficult questions about reading graphic novels as literature. What critical standards should we use to measure the quality of a graphic novel? How does the genre contribute to our understanding of ourselves and the world? What qualities distinguish it from other forms of literature? LitComix hones its theoretical approach through case studies taken from across the diverse world of comics, from Yoshihiro Tatsumi’s groundbreaking manga to the Hernandez Brothers’ influential alt-comix. Whether looking at graphic novel adaptations of Proust or considering how Jack Kirby’s use of intertextuality makes him the Balzac of comics, this study offers fresh perspectives on how we might appreciate graphic novels as literature. Trade Review"The authors want comics to 'be treated with the seriousness of so-called proper literature.' In this spirit, their book introduces readers to comics makers who should be celebrated for their significant contributions to expanding the horizons of the pleasures of reading." — Shiamin Kwa, author of Perfect Copies: Reproduction and the Contemporary Comic "Growing up in the UK during the 1960s, to me, Kirby was "The Comics." Kirby created his own genre whose influence is felt to this very day. It's rare to read something so well thought out on my pet subject. Litcomix is a great read!" — Shaky Kane, comic artist, 2000 AD, The Bulletproof Coffin, The Beef "Reflecting upon central elements of Marxist literary theorist and philosopher Georg Lukács, this admirable volume adds momentum to the speed at which we are recognizing the proper value of the comics art form. Insightful and provocative, once I finished reading this book I wanted to pick it up again and start over.” — Jeff McLaughlin, editor of Comics as Philosophy "As a fellow true believer in comics as a high voltage energy conductor, I recommend Geczy and McBurnie's book, one which highlights and categorizes some of the vibrant new methods and genres of cartooning-art power with a well-researched and passionate curation of contemporary gems as examples. May the kaleidoscopic galaxy of comics continue to unfurl!" — Lale Westvind, cartoonist "Litcomix, an original, extremely interesting book, argues that we should treat graphic novels as serious literature, applying to them the theories that are usually reserved for discussion of ‘serious’ literature. In a most timely account, Geczy and McBurnie present fascinating and instructive examples."— David Carrier, author of Philosophical Skepticism as the Subject of Art: Maria Bussmann’s Drawings "Litcomix frames the notion that comics are long overdue for serious attention, and then delivers that attention in the most informed possible manner. For too long, comics have had the boot of cultural bias on its neck. This book supplants that boot and puts the graphic novel on even footing with the best of literature." — Christopher Sperandio, cartoonist and academicTable of ContentsIntroduction Introduction Part I Theories 1 Literary Theory: The Relevant and the Real 2 Recuperating Realism: Lukács 3 Classic Novels, Classic Comics 4 Was Wertham Right? Comics as Antisocial and Subversive 5 The Balzac of Comics: Jack Kirby, World Building, and the Kirbyesque 6 Figurative Pseudonyms: Biography and Confession Part II Case Studies 7 Josh Bayer 8 Nina Bunjevac 9 Simon Hanselmann 10 The Hernandez Brothers 11 Tommi Parrish 12 Yos hihiro Tatsumi Conclusion: Our New Urizens Acknowledgments Notes Index

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Book SynopsisCritical studies of the graphic novel have often employed methodologies taken from film theory and art criticism. Yet, as graphic novels from Maus to Watchmen have entered the literary canon, perhaps the time has come to develop theories for interpreting and evaluating graphic novels that are drawn from classic models of literary theory and criticism. Using the methodology of Georg Lukács and his detailed defense of literary realism as a socially embedded practice, Litcomix tackles difficult questions about reading graphic novels as literature. What critical standards should we use to measure the quality of a graphic novel? How does the genre contribute to our understanding of ourselves and the world? What qualities distinguish it from other forms of literature? LitComix hones its theoretical approach through case studies taken from across the diverse world of comics, from Yoshihiro Tatsumi’s groundbreaking manga to the Hernandez Brothers’ influential alt-comix. Whether looking at graphic novel adaptations of Proust or considering how Jack Kirby’s use of intertextuality makes him the Balzac of comics, this study offers fresh perspectives on how we might appreciate graphic novels as literature. Trade Review"Litcomix, an original, extremely interesting book, argues that we should treat graphic novels as serious literature, applying to them the theories that are usually reserved for discussion of ‘serious’ literature. In a most timely account, Geczy and McBurnie present fascinating and instructive examples." -- David Carrier * author of Philosophical Skepticism as the Subject of Art: Maria Bussmann’s Drawings *"Growing up in the UK during the 1960s, to me, Kirby was "The Comics." Kirby created his own genre whose influence is felt to this very day. It's rare to read something so well thought out on my pet subject. Litcomix is a great read!" -- Shaky Kane * comic artist, 2000 AD, The Bulletproof Coffin, The Beef *"As a fellow true believer in comics as a high voltage energy conductor, I recommend Geczy and McBurnie's book, one which highlights and categorizes some of the vibrant new methods and genres of cartooning-art power with a well-researched and passionate curation of contemporary gems as examples. May the kaleidoscopic galaxy of comics continue to unfurl!" -- Lale Westvind * cartoonist *"The authors want comics to 'be treated with the seriousness of so-called proper literature.' In this spirit, their book introduces readers to comics makers who should be celebrated for their significant contributions to expanding the horizons of the pleasures of reading." -- Shiamin Kwa * author of Perfect Copies: Reproduction and the Contemporary Comic *"Litcomix frames the notion that comics are long overdue for serious attention, and then delivers that attention in the most informed possible manner. For too long, comics have had the boot of cultural bias on its neck. This book supplants that boot and puts the graphic novel on even footing with the best of literature." -- Christopher Sperandio * cartoonist and academic *"Reflecting upon central elements of Marxist literary theorist and philosopher Georg Lukács, this admirable volume adds momentum to the speed at which we are recognizing the proper value of the comics art form. Insightful and provocative, once I finished reading this book I wanted to pick it up again and start over.” -- Jeff McLaughlin * editor of Comics as Philosophy *Table of ContentsIntroduction Introduction Part I Theories 1 Literary Theory: The Relevant and the Real 2 Recuperating Realism: Lukács 3 Classic Novels, Classic Comics 4 Was Wertham Right? Comics as Antisocial and Subversive 5 The Balzac of Comics: Jack Kirby, World Building, and the Kirbyesque 6 Figurative Pseudonyms: Biography and Confession Part II Case Studies 7 Josh Bayer 8 Nina Bunjevac 9 Simon Hanselmann 10 The Hernandez Brothers 11 Tommi Parrish 12 Yos hihiro Tatsumi Conclusion: Our New Urizens Acknowledgments Notes Index

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