An Atlas of the European Novel, 1800-1900

An Atlas of the European Novel 1800-1900 explores the fascinating connections between literature and space. In this pioneering study, Franco Moretti presents a fresh and exciting perspective on the European novel.In a series of one hundred maps, Moretti illuminates the geographical assumptions of nineteenth-century novels and the geographical reach of particular authors and genres across the continent. A good map, he discovers, can be worth a thousand words in posing new questions and allowing us to see connections that have so far escaped us. Reading his Atlas, we become aware of the secret structure of Dickens's and Conan Doyle's London, and see how the fictional settings of Austen's Britain, or picaresque Spain, or the France of the Comedie humaine imagine national identity in different ways. In a final chapter on 'narrative markets', Moretti tells us which books were most popular in the provincial libraries of Victorian Britain, and charts the European diffusion of Don Quixote, Buddenbrooks, and the great nineteenth-century bestsellers. Moretti Explores The Fascinating Connections Between Literature And Space, Illuminating The Geographical Assumptions Of 19th Century Novels And The Geographical Reach Of Particular Authors And Genres Across The Continent. Introduction: Towards A Geography Of Literature Ch. 1. The Novel, The Nation-state. 1. Home-land. 2. England And Its Double. 3. 'the Recent Losses In The West India Estate'. 4. Geography Of Ideas. 5. Far From The Center. 6. Theoretical Interlude I. Of Space And Style. 7. Taking The High Road. 8. 'a Mighty Big River, Resembling An Immense Snake Uncoiled'. 9. Village, Provinces, Metropolis. 10. Theoretical Interlude Ii. Geography Of Plot Ch. 2. A Tale Of Two Cities. 1. The Problem. 2. 'we Live In So Different A Part Of Town ... '. 3. 'a Mosaic Of Little Worlds'. 4. Fear In Paris. 5. Theoretical Interlude Iii. Stories Of The Third. 6. Fields Of Power. 7. The Third London. 8. Very Curiously Brought Together. 9. City Of Clues Ch. 3. Narrative Markets, Ca. 1850. 1. 'experiments Upon Diagrams'. 2. Theoretical Interlude Iv. Normal Literature. 3. England Becomes An Island. 4. A United And Uneven Market. 5. Theoretical Interlude V. Center And Periphery. 6. The Three Europes ; 7. A Bibliographical Investigation. 8. 'a Universal Inter-dependence Of Nations'. 9. Theoretical Interlude Vi. Market And Forms. 10. 'sustained By Its Historical Backwardness' Franco Moretti. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Explores the connections between literature and space. The author's aim is to use maps, not as ornaments, but as analytical tools which, in making connections explicit and visible, allow us to "see" literature in a new way. Included in the maps is Dickens's and Conan Doyle's London.