Revolutionary Histories: Transatlantic Cultural Nationalism 1775-1815 (Romanticism in Perspective)

Historians and literary critics from both sides of the Atlantic analyze significant watersheds and faultlines from 1775-1815--a crucial era in the history of Euro-Americans relations. Tracing patterns of intellectual and cultural cross-pollination between the Old and the New World, between pre- and post-Revolutionary cultures, the essays increase awareness of the degree to which the emergence of cultural nationalism in this period was essentially a transatlantic process—a process that was itself part of a larger circumatlantic cultural continuum. Contents......Page 6 List of Figures......Page 8 Notes on Contributors......Page 9 Acknowledgments......Page 12 Introduction......Page 14 1. Traveling Through Revolutions: Chastellux, Barlow, and Transatlantic Political Cultures, 1776-1812......Page 23 2. Volney, Frankenstein, and the Lessons of History......Page 39 3. Benjamin Franklin, Native Americans, and the Commerce of Civility......Page 61 4. A Language for the Nation: A Transatlantic Problematic......Page 75 5. International Embarrassment: A Transatlantic Morphology of Blushing, 1749-1812......Page 98 6. Captivity and Cultural Capital in the English Novel......Page 117 7. Real Toads in Imaginary Gardens: Nursery Tales on the Frontier......Page 135 8. “That Miserable Continent”: Cultural Pessimism and the Idea of “America” in Cornelis de Pauw......Page 148 9. The Illusion of the Illuminati: the Counterconspiratorial Origins of Post-Revolutionary Conservatism......Page 165 10. “I will use no daggers! I will unfold a tale - !”: Historical Sensitivity and Generic Contiguity in the Narrative Theories of William Godwin......Page 179 11. Edmund Burke, Historism, and History......Page 201 Notes......Page 225 Index......Page 268 Introduction / W.m. Verhoeven -- 1. Traveling Through Revolutions: Chastellux, Barlow, And Transatlantic Political Cultures, 1776-1812 / Lloyd Kramer -- 2. Volney, Frankenstein, And The Lessons Of History / Wessel Krul -- 3. Benjamin Franklin, Native Americans, And The Commerce Of Civility / Carla Mulford -- 4. A Language For The Nation: A Transatlantic Problematic / Leonard Tennenhouse -- 5. International Embarrassment: A Transatlantic Morphology Of Blushing, 1749-1812 / Robert Lawson-peebles -- 6. Captivity And Cultural Capital In The English Novel / Nancy Armstrong -- 7. Real Toads In Imaginary Gardens: Nursery Tales On The Frontier / Marilyn Gaull. Edited By W.m. Verhoeven. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 212-254) And Index. In this collection of interdisciplinary essays, historians and literary critics from both sides of the Atlantic analyse some of the most significant watersheds and faultlines that occurred in the period 1775-1815, a crucial era in the history of Euro-Americans relations. Tracing complex patterns of intellectual and cultural cross-pollination between the Old and the New World, between pre-and post-Revolutionary cultures, the essays aim to increase out awareness of the degree to which the emergence of cultural nationalism in this period was essentially a transatlantic process - a process that was itself part of a larger circumatlantic cultural continuum. The American and French Revolutions at the end of the eighteenth century stimulated the development of an optimistic, liberal, trans-atlantic political culture that united the advocates of both revolutions.