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This book focuses on the different forms in which authorship came to be expressed in eighteenth-century Italian publishing. It analyses both the affirmation of the "author function", and, above all, its paradoxical opposite: the use of anonymity, a centuries-old practice present everywhere in Europe but often neglected by scholarship. The reasons why authors chose to publish their works anonymously were manifold, including prudence, fear of censorship, modesty, fear of personal criticism, or simple divertissement. In many cases, it was an ethical choice, especially for ecclesiastics. The Italian case provides a key perspective on the study of anonymity in the European context, contributing to the analysis of an overlooked topic in academic studies.
List of contents
1 Introduction. The Absent Author: Functions and Uses of Anonymous Authorship.- Chapter 2 The Ambiguities of the "Author Function".- Chapter 3 Anonymity in Travel Books.- Chapter 4 Giuseppe Parini: Between Anonymity and Revealing the Author's Name.- Chapter 5 Carlo Goldoni and the Construction of Authorship.- Chapter 6 Novels: Read Them and Forget Them.
About the author
Lodovica Braida is Professor of History of the Book at the University of Milan, Italy. Her work is devoted to the history of print culture and reading practices in early modern Europe, particularly in Italy, in a perspective of sociocultural history engaging bibliography, literary criticism, and intellectual history.
