Description
Book SynopsisTrade Review“It is not simply one of the best books I know on nineteenth century English fiction; it is also one of the most powerful, inventive, and consistently interesting works of Marxist criticism. . .”—Andrew Parker, Amherst College
"This is one of the best books of the last decade. . . remarkably original and important. Robbins's deep concern for literary and cultural theory supports and focuses his close attention to reading specific works as they arise from and function within a history lived and made by human beings. I don't know a better example of the connections between literary and cultural studies."—Jonathan Arac, University of Pittsburgh
Table of ContentsPreface ix
Introduction: The Secret Pressure of a Working Hand 1
1. From Odysseus' Scar to the Brown Stocking: A Tradition 25
2. Impertinence: The Servant in Dialogue 53
3. Exposition: The Servant as Narrator 91
4. Agency: The Servant as Instrument of the Plot 131
5. Recognition: The Servant in the Ending 167
Conclusion: Commonplace and Utopia 205
Notes 227
Bibliography 239
Index 255
