The Anthology and the Rise of the Novel : From Richardson to George Eliot

The Anthology and the Rise of the Novel, first published in 2000, brings together two traditionally antagonistic fields, book history and narrative theory, to challenge established theories of 'the rise of the novel'. Leah Price shows that far from leveling class or gender distinctions, as has long been claimed, the novel has consistently located them within its own audience. Shedding new light on Richardson and Radcliffe, Scott and George Eliot, this book asks why the epistolary novel disappeared, how the book review emerged, why eighteenth-century abridgers designed their books for women while Victorian publishers marketed them to men, and how editors' reproduction of old texts has shaped authors' production of new ones. This innovative study will change the way we think not just about the history of reading, but about the genealogy of the canon wars, the future of intellectual property, and the role that anthologies play in our own classrooms. Cover......Page 1 Half-title......Page 3 Title......Page 5 Copyright......Page 6 Contents......Page 7 Acknowledgments......Page 8 Introduction......Page 11 CHAPTER 1 Richardson’s economies of scale......Page 23 WRITING AGAINST THE MOMENT......Page 25 MEANING AND GAPING......Page 37 ‘‘COPY IN OTHER HANDS’’......Page 45 THE INVISIBLE HAND......Page 52 POSTSCRIPT: SCOTT AND THE LITERARY-HISTORICAL NOVEL......Page 58 CHAPTER 2 Cultures of the commonplace......Page 77 KNOX’S SCISSOR-DOINGS......Page 80 BOWDLER’S PRIVATE PUBLIC......Page 87 RADCLIFFE’S UNCOMMON READERS......Page 100 CODA: FERRIER’S SECOND-HAND SENTIMENTS......Page 109 CHAPTER 3 George Eliot and the production of consumers......Page 115 READING AGAINST THE PLOT......Page 117 WOMEN OF MAXIMS......Page 129 ‘‘OUTSIDE SAYINGS AND DOINGS’’......Page 138 THE ETHICS OF THE REVIEW......Page 147 CONCLUSION: ‘‘THE BUSINESS OF THE NOVEL’’......Page 159 INTRODUCTION......Page 167 1 RICHARDSON’S ECONOMIES OF SCALE......Page 171 2 CULTURES OF THE COMMONPLACE......Page 181 3 GEORGE ELIOT AND THE PRODUCTION OF CONSUMERS......Page 192 Bibliography......Page 208 Index......Page 229 "The Anthology and the Rise of the Novel brings together two traditionally antagonistic fields, book history and narrative theory, to challenge established theories of "the rise of the novel." Leah Price shows that far from leveling class or gender distinctions, as has long been claimed, the novel has consistently located them within its own audience. Shedding new light on Richardson and Radcliffe, Scott and George Eliot, this book asks why the epistolary novel disappeared, how the book review emerged, why eighteenth-century abridgers marketed their books to women while Victorian publishers repackaged them for men, and how editors' reproduction of old texts has shaped authors' production of new ones. This book will change the way we think not just about the history of reading, but about the genealogy of the canon wars, the future of intellectual property, and the role that anthologies play in our own classrooms."--Jacket The Anthology and the Rise of the Novel brings together two traditionally antagonistic fields, book history and narrative theory, to challenge established theories of "the rise of the novel." Covering British novelists from Richardson to George Eliot, this study asks why the epistolary novel disappeared, how the book review emerged, and how editors' reproduction of old texts has shaped authors' production of new ones. This provocative book promises to change the way we think about the future of intellectual property, and the role that anthologies play in the classroom. The Anthology and the Rise of the Novel brings together two traditionally antagonistic fields, book history and narrative theory, to challenge established theories of "the rise of the novel." Covering British novelists from Richardson to George Eliot, this study asks why the epistolary novel disappeared, how the book review emerged, and how editors' reproduction of old texts has shaped authors' production of new ones. This text brings together two traditionally antagonistic fields, book history and narrative theory, to challenge established theories of the rise of the novel What Cleanth Brooks anathematized fifty years ago as "the heresy of paraphrase" remains impossible to escape in literary critics' daily practice. Leah Price. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 198-218) And Index.