The profession of authorship in America : 1800-1870 : the paper of William Charvat

This study focuses on the complex relations between author, publisher and contemporary reading public in 19th-century America; in particular, the emergence of Irving and Cooper as America's first successful literary entrepreneurs, how Poe's and Melville's successes and failures affected their writing, the popularization of poetry in the 1830s and 1840s, the role of the literary magazine in the 1840s and 1850s, and the beginnings of book promotion. It pays particular attention to the way social and economic forces helped to shape literary works. This historical study focuses on the complex relations between author, publisher and contemporary reading public in 19th-century USA. It describes the emergence of the first successful literary entrepreneurs, the role of the literary magazine and the beginnings of book promotion. William Charvat ; Edited By Matthew J. Bruccoli. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [317]-319) And Index.