Reading History in Britain and America, C.1750-C.1840

This book explores the success of historical literature from the perspective of the reading audience in the period c.1750-c.1840. Drawing on a variety of sources including marginalia, letters, diaries and commonplace books, it reveals why histories were so popular, and how they were used by readers across the English-speaking world.

List of contents

Introduction. 'History now is the favourite reading'; 1. History and the life cycle of the reader; 2. Sceptical historiography and the problem of infidelity; 3. Contesting constitutional history; 4. A nation united? Histories of England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales; 5. Rewriting the American nation; 6. Historical information and the management of Empire; Conclusion; Bibliography.

About the author

Mark Towsey is Professor in the History of the Book and Director of the Eighteenth-Century Worlds Research Centre at the University of Liverpool. His previous publications include Reading the Scottish Enlightenment: Books and their Readers in Provincial Scotland, 1750–1820 (2010) and Before the Public Library: Reading, Community, and Identity in the Atlantic World, 1650–1850 (2017).

Summary

This book explores the success of historical literature from the perspective of the reading audience in the period c.1750–c.1840. Drawing on a variety of sources including marginalia, letters, diaries and commonplace books, it reveals why histories were so popular, and how they were used by readers across the English-speaking world.

Product details

• Authors: Mark Towsey, Mark (University of Liverpool) Towsey, Towsey Mark
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press ELT
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 31.03.2021
• EAN: 9781108716185
• ISBN: 978-1-108-71618-5
• No. of pages: 316
• Subjects: Fiction > Poetry, drama; Humanities, art, music > Linguistics and literary studies > General and comparative literary studies; USA, English, 18th century, c 1700 to c 1799, Historiography, United Kingdom, Great Britain, United States of America, USA, Literary studies: general, Literary studies: c 1500 to c 1800, Literary studies: c 1600 to c 1800, C 1700 To C 1800