Samuel Richardson in Context
Samuel Richardson in Context
Betty A. Schellenberg, Simon Fraser University, British Columbia
Since the publication of his novel Pamela; or Virtue Rewarded in 1740, Samuel Richardson's place in the English literary tradition has been secured. But how can that place best be described? Over the three centuries since embarking on his printing career the 'divine' novelist has been variously understood as moral crusader, advocate for women, pioneer of the realist novel and print innovator. Situating Richardson's work within these social, intellectual and material contexts, this new volume of essays identifies his centrality to the emergence of the novel, the self-help book, and the idea of the professional author, as well as his influence on the development of the modern English language, the capitalist economy, and gendered, medicalized, urban, and national identities. This book enables a fuller understanding and appreciation of Richardson's life, work and legacy, and points the way for future studies of one of English literature's most celebrated novelists.
- Explores the life and works of Samuel Richardson in their historical, cultural and intellectual contexts
- Offers a new account of the writer's place in eighteenth-century print culture and social interactions in concise and approachable form
- Provides a chronology, illustrations and further reading for a fuller understanding of Richardson's life and works
Reviews & endorsements
'All the essays are lucid and well informed, provocative and engaging, erudite and somehow still accessible to nonspecialists. The book includes 21 illustrations and is printed on fine-quality paper with noticeable attention to details of production, as befits the subject of this study. Both those who have long loved Richardson and those coming to him for the first time will find this volume invaluable for study of his works. Essential.' Choice
'… Sabor and … Schellenberg have put together a superb 'In Context' collection for Cambridge: Samuel Richardson in Context. Every single essay is excellent. The thirty-seven chapters represent the best Richardson scholarship out there …' Cynthia Wall, SEL Studies in English Literature 1500–1900
Product details
October 2017Hardback
9781107150126
388 pages
235 × 158 × 24 mm
0.76kg
20 b/w illus.
Available
Table of Contents
- Part I. Life and Works:
- 1. Portraying the life Thomas Keymer
- 2. Publication history Peter Sabor
- 3. Correspondence Louise Curran
- Part II. Critical Fortunes:
- 4. Editions Hilary Havens
- 5. Contemporary transnational reception Mary Helen McMurran
- 6. Reputation Sören Hammerschmidt
- 7. Critical reception to 1900 Brian Corman
- 8. Critical reception since 1900 Albert J. Rivero
- Part III. The Print Trade:
- 9. The Stationers' Company Ian Gadd
- 10. Transnational print trade relations Norbert Schürer
- 11. Authorship Betty A. Schellenberg
- 12. The literary marketplace Catherine Ingrassia
- Part IV. The Book and its Readers:
- 13. The material book Christopher Flint
- 14. Editing Pat Rogers
- 15. Reading and readers Eve Tavor Bannet
- Part V. Literary Genres and the Arts:
- 16. The novel April London
- 17. Fables and fairy-tales Margaret Anne Doody
- 18. Letters Joe Bray
- 19. Educational writing Bonnie Latimer
- 20. The English language Carol Percy
- 21. Salon culture and conversation Markman Ellis
- 22. Visual arts Lynn Shepherd
- 23. Theatre and drama Darryl P. Domingo
- 24. Humour Simon Dickie
- Part VI. Social Structures and Social Life:
- 25. Money and economics Edward Copeland
- 26. The law Simon Stern
- 27. Family Toni Bowers
- 28. Gender Kathleen M. Oliver
- 29. Sexuality James Grantham Turner
- 30. Medicine and health Heather Meek
- 31. Death and mourning culture Peter Walmsley
- 32. London Linda Bree
- 33. Sentiment and sensibility Katherine Binhammer
- 34. Religion E. Derek Taylor
- 35. Social hierarchy and social mobility Karen Lipsedge
- 36. Politics Howard D. Weinbrot
- 37. Nationalism Lisa O'Connell.
