English Fiction Of The Romantic Period, 1789-1830 (longman Literature In English Series)

English Fiction of the Romantic Period 1789-1830 is the first comprehensive historical survey of fiction from that period for many decades. It combines a clear awareness of the period's social history with recent developments in literary criticism, theory and history, and explains the astounding variety of forms in Romantic fiction in terms of the various cultural, political, social, regional and gender conflicts of the time. It provides a broad-ranging survey from the major authors and works through to the sub-genres of the period. Jan Austin and Sir Alter Scott are discussed alongside the Gothic Romance, political and feminist fiction, social satire and regional, rural and historical novels. It also provides a comparison of the methods of distribution and marketing and the availability of books then and now; examines cheap popular fiction and children's fiction, and considers the recent debate about the place of prose fiction in a Romantic literature hitherto dominated by poetry. The Romantic period has often been seen as dominated by the Romantic poets almost to the exclusion of the novel. In this descriptive and interpretative study of the fiction of the Romantic period in Britain, the author aims to redress the balance by offering an account of the astounding variety of forms of Romantic fiction in terms of social, cultural, political, regional and gender conflicts of the period. The book devotes entire chapters to important individual figures such as Austen and Scott and also loooks at gothic romance, political and feminist novels, domestic and rural tales, historical novels, satirical novels, popular fiction and children's fiction. A descriptive and interpretative study of the fiction of the Romantic period in Britain in terms of the social, cultural, political, regional and gender conflicts of the period. Coverage includes gothic romance, children's fiction, political and feminist novels and domestic and rural tales. A comprehensive historical survey of the period 1789xxx;1830. Will aid the reader in assessing the role of prose fiction in a period hitherto dominated by poetry.