Description

Book Synopsis
A provocative examination of literacy in the American South before emancipation, countering the long-standing stereotype of the South's oral tradition

Trade Review
"A striking new interpretation of the antebellum American South. This book is a major contribution to the literary and cultural history of the American South, the history of the book and print culture, women’s history, nineteenth-century American history, and African American history."—Lloyd Pratt, University of Oxford

"Beth Barton Schweiger's highly imaginative survey of antebellum print culture in the Virginia and North Carolina backcountry uncovers a rich world of avid readers who helped define themselves and their own version of modernity at a time when literacy served as a potent weapon in the slavery/antislavery debate."—Susan V. Donaldson, College of William and Mary

"Schweiger makes a persuasive case for the circulation and consumption of print in the rural antebellum South. In doing so, she offers an innovative take on what people do with print.”—Sarah Gardner, Mercer University

A Literate South Reading before Emancipation

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    A Hardback by Beth Barton Schweiger

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      Publisher: Yale University Press
      Publication Date: Publication Date: 13/08/2019
      ISBN13: 9780300112535, 978-0300112535
      ISBN10: 030011253X
      Also in:
      Literature: history and criticism

      Description

      Book Synopsis
      A provocative examination of literacy in the American South before emancipation, countering the long-standing stereotype of the South's oral tradition

      Trade Review
      "A striking new interpretation of the antebellum American South. This book is a major contribution to the literary and cultural history of the American South, the history of the book and print culture, women’s history, nineteenth-century American history, and African American history."—Lloyd Pratt, University of Oxford

      "Beth Barton Schweiger's highly imaginative survey of antebellum print culture in the Virginia and North Carolina backcountry uncovers a rich world of avid readers who helped define themselves and their own version of modernity at a time when literacy served as a potent weapon in the slavery/antislavery debate."—Susan V. Donaldson, College of William and Mary

      "Schweiger makes a persuasive case for the circulation and consumption of print in the rural antebellum South. In doing so, she offers an innovative take on what people do with print.”—Sarah Gardner, Mercer University

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