Atlantic Republic : The American Tradition in English Literature

Atlantic Republic traces the legacy of the United States both as a place and as an idea in the work of English writers from 1776 to the present day. Seeing the disputes of the Reformation as a precursor to this transatlantic divide, it argues that America has operated since the Revolution as afocal point for various traditions of dissent within English culture. By ranging over writers from Richard Price and Susanna Rowson in the 1790s to Angela Carter and Salman Rushdie at the turn of the twenty-first century, the book argues that America haunts the English literary tradition as aparallel space where ideology and aesthetics are configured differently. Consequently, it suggests, many of the key episodes in British history--parliamentary reform in the 1830s, the imperial designs of the Victorian era, the twentieth-century conflict with fascism, the advance of globalizationsince 1980--have been shaped by implicit dialogues with American cultural models. Rather than simply reinforcing the benign myth of a "special relationship," Paul Giles considers how various English writers over the past 200 years have engaged with America for various complicated reasons: itspromise of political republicanism (Byron, Mary Shelley); its emphasis on religious disestablishment (Clough, Gissing); its prospect of pastoral regeneration (Ruxton, Lawrence); its vision of scientific futurism (Huxley, Ballard). The book also analyzes the complex cultural relations between Britainand the United States around the time of the Second World War, suggesting that writers such as Wodehouse, Isherwood, and Auden understood the United States and Germany to offer alternative versions of the kind of technological modernity that appeared equally hostile to traditional forms of Englishculture. The book ends with a consideration of ways in which the canon of English literature might appear in a different light if seen from a transnational rather than a familiar national perspective. Giles Describes A Tradition Of English Literary Figures Since 1776 Who Have Either Emigrated To The United States Or Whose Writing Has Been Shaped By American Ideas. The Writers Discussed Here Include Lord Byron, Charles Dickens, D.h. Lawrence, P.g. Wodehouse, And Angela Carter. Introduction: Reformation, Disestablishment, Transnationalism -- 1. American Revolution And The Rhetoric Of Schism : Samuel Johnson And The Loss Of America. Enlightenment Liberty: Richard Price And Susanna Rowson -- 2. Transatlantic Romanticism And Parliamentary Reform: William Wordsworth, S.t. Coleridge, And The Anglican Order. P.b. Shelley, Lord Byron, And The Republican Inheritance. Reform As Apocalypse: Mary Shelley And The Novel Of Purpose -- 3. First Cold War: Anglo-american Literature And The Oregon Question: Manifest Destiny And Anglophobia. Land Politics Of Transcendentalism. English Counterfire: Charles Dickens And George Ruston -- 4. Arthur Hugh Clough And The Poetics Of Dissent: Negative Transcendentalism: The Dialogue With R.w. Emerson. Anti-anglicanism: The Dialogue With Matthew Arnold -- 5. Aestheticism, Americanizatin, And Empire: Aesthetic Movement's Transatlantic Horizons. Local And The Global: George Gissing -- 6. Great Traditions: Modernism, Canonization, Counter-reformation: Spirit Summoned West: D.h. Lawrence. Constitution Of Silence: T.s. Eliot 7. Fascist Imaginary: Abstraction, Violence, And The Second World War: Arcadia Noir: P.g. Wodehouse. Through The Looking Glass: Aldous Huxley And Christopher Isherwood -- 8. Postwar Poetry And The Purification Of Exile: Just City: W.h. Auden. Double Image: Denise Levertov. Gathered Church: Donald Davie -- 9. Postmodernist Fiction And The Inversion Of History: Perverse Reformations: J.g. Ballard. American Ghosts: Angela Carter. Parallel Universes: Martin Amis -- 10. Global English And The Politics Of Traversal: Art Of Blasphemy: Salman Rushdie. New World Order: Caryl Phillips -- Conclusion: The Transnationalization Of English Literature -- Works Cited. Paul Giles. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [365]-408) And Index. Atlantic Republic traces the legacy of the United States both as a place and as an idea in the work of English writers from 1776 to the present day. Seeing the disputes of the Reformation as a precursor to this transatlantic divide, it argues that America has operated since the Revolution as a focal point for various traditions of dissent within English culture. By ranging over writers from Richard Price and Susanna Rowson in the 1790s to Angela Carter and Salman Rushdie at the turn of the twenty-first century, the book argues that America haunts the English literary tradition as a parallel space where ideology and aesthetics are configured differently. Consequently, it suggests, many of the key episodes in British history-parliamentary reform in the 1830s, the imperial designs of the Victorian era, the twentieth-century conflict with fascism, the advance of globalization since 1980-have been shaped by implicit dialogues with American cultural models. Rather than simply reinforcing the benign myth of a'special relationship', Paul Giles considers how various English writers over the past 200 years have engaged with America for various complicated reasons: its promise of political republicanism (Byron, Mary Shelley); its emphasis on religious disestablishment (Clough, Gissing); its prospect of pastoral regeneration (Ruxton, Lawrence); its vision of scientific futurism (Huxley, Ballard). The book also analyses the complex cultural relations between Britain and the United States around the time of the Second World War, suggesting that writers such as Wodehouse, Isherwood, and Auden understood the United States and Germany to offer alternative versions of the kind of technological modernity that appeared equally hostile to traditional forms of English culture. The book ends with a consideration of ways in which the canon of English literature might appear in a different light if seen from a transnational rather than a familiar national perspective. Atlantic Republic traces the legacy of the United States both as a place and an idea in the work of English writers from 1776 to the present day. Seeing the disputes of the Reformation as a precursor to this transatlantic divide, it argues that America has operated since the Revolution as a focal point for various traditions of dissent within English culture. Paul Giles considers how various English writers over the past 200 years have engaged with America for various complicated reasons: its promise of political republicanism (Byron, Mary Shelley); its emphasis on religious disestablishment (Clough, Gissin); its prospect of pastoral regeneration (Ruxton, Lawrence); its vision of scientifc futurism (Huxley, Ballard). Atlantic Republic also discusses the value and significance of transnationalism as a critical methodology, and the book ends with a consideration of the ways in which the canon of English literature might appear in a different light if seen from a transnational rather than a familiar national perspective. (From Publisher Description) This book describes a tradition of English literary figures from 1776 to the present day who have either emigrated to the United States or whose writing has been shaped by American ideas. The writers discussed include Lord Byron, Charles Dickens, D. H. Lawrence, P. G. Wodehouse, and Angela Carter. - ;Atlantic Republic traces the legacy of the United States both as a place and as an idea in the work of English writers from 1776 to the present day. Seeing the disputes of the Reformation as a precursor to this transatlantic divide, it argues that America has operated since the Revolution as a foc Atlantic Republic is concerned with how the legacy of the American Revolution has manifested itself in English writing over the past two centuries, with ways in which the war of 1775-83 and the subsequent division into the two distinct nation-states creat