Overview
This important and innovative collection deals with issues raised by the study of writing, publishing and reading in relation to literary criticism, and provides a much-needed overview of the current state of textual studies. The volume brings together in dialogue scholars of several fields - bibliography, textual editing, publishing history and literary criticism - to exemplify, explore and encourage a practice of literary criticism which takes into account the context of the transmission of the literary text. Reconstructing the Book offers an informed study of some of the processes by which a literary text reaches its readers; it gives a straightforward presentation of the issues in publishing history that arise in particular periods of post-medieval English literature, and seeks to integrate publishing history with critical readings of texts in discerning and thought-provoking ways. Between them, the seventeen essays (in literary criticism, textual studies and publishing history) encompass the following periods: the Renaissance, Restoration, Eighteenth century, Romantics, Victorian, Modern, and Contemporary British and Postcolonial. Maureen Bell provides an introduction that further explores the connections among the essays in each period of study. The volume fills a substantial gap in current approaches to literature by addressing new trends in literary criticism. The collection will be of interest not only to researchers, students and teachers of the distinct periods of literature it covers, but also to those engaged in researching the theory of textual transmission and the sociology of texts.Synopsis
Eighteen contributions from British scholars discuss a variety of issues relating to textual studies, literary criticism, and publishing history, taking into consideration the processes by which a literary text reaches its readers. A sampling of topics includes the editing of Quartos 3 and 4 of Romeo and Juliet, Coleridge's Sonnets from Various Authors, and three examples from Drieser of the editing of private papers.
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Elisabeth Leedham-Green
Experts in the field will welcome unreservedly this fine collection of essays by a distinguished group of scholars containing as it does studies of texts ranging from the 17th century to the present day and topics ranging from censorship to editorial practice ... the chronological and methodological span of the volume, and the thoughtful provision of separate bibliographies for each essay, make this not only a superbly inspiring, but also an immensely convenient tool for the introduction of students to the burgeoning field of book history in its many guises ...