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.

Reviews (1)

Choice Review

This succinct investigation of the impact of "packaging" of the early British novel is carefully focused, soundly supported, and convincingly argued. Price (Harvard) brings together book history and narrative theory in subtle ways to reach sometimes surprisingly original and engaging conclusions about the effects anthologizers, abridgers, and republishers have had on the production and form of narratives, particularly women's fiction. The book deals primarily with writers like Richardson, Scott, Radcliffe, Eliot, and Mrs. Humphry Ward, but its commentary extends to present-day issues like intellectual property, the canon wars, and the effects of the Norton anthologies in the classroom. In an age burdened with overly theoretical and overwritten scholarship, Price's approach, based on book history production information, is refreshingly precise and clear. The book is unusually well informed by contemporaneous as well as contemporary reviews and criticism. Equally refreshing is the thoughtfulness and frequent wry duality of Price's observations. This study assumes a fair degree of familiarity with the authors and critics it discusses, yet it is free of obfuscating critical buzzwords. Essential for any self-respecting academic library supporting work in narrative history or theory at any level. Extremely useful notes, excellent bibliography. T. Loe; SUNY College at Oswego

Acknowledgments

Introduction

1 RichardsonÆs economies of scale

2 Cultures of the commonplace

3 KnoxÆs Scissor-Doings

4 George Eliot and the production of consumers

Notes

Bibliography

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Reviews (1)

Choice Review

Table of Contents