The Transatlantic Materials of American Literature

Publishing Us Writing in Britain, 1830-1860
Erscheinungsjahr 2023
ISBN: 978-1-62534-686-5
Verlag: University of Massachusetts Press

Buch, Englisch, 320 Seiten, Hardback, Format (B × H): 154 mm x 230 mm, Gewicht: 798 g

Reihe: Studies in Print Culture and the History of the Book

During the antebellum period, British publishers increasingly brought out their own authorized and unauthorized editions of American literary works as the popularity of print exploded and literacy rates grew. Playing a formative role in the shaping of American literature, the industry championed the work of U.S.-based writers, highlighted the cultural value of American literary works, and intervened in debates about the future of American literature, authorship, and print culture.The Transatlantic Materials of American Literature examines the British editions of American fiction, poetry, essays, and autobiographies from writers like Edgar Allan Poe, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Frederick Douglass, and Hannah Flagg Gould. Putting these publications into historical context, Katie McGettigan considers key issues of the day, including developments in copyright law, changing print technologies, and the financial considerations at play for authors and publishers. This innovative study also uncovers how the transatlantic circulation of these works exposed the racial violence and cultural nationalism at the heart of the American experiment, producing overlapping and competing visions of American nationhood in the process.

Autoren/Hrsg.

McGettigan, Katie

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Literaturwissenschaft Literaturgeschichte und Literaturkritik
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Geschichte einzelner Länder Amerikanische Geschichte

Über Autor(innen)

KATIE MCGETTIGAN is senior lecturer of American literature at Royal Holloway, University of London and author of Herman Melville: Modernity and the Material Text.