The Godwinian Novel by Clemit, Pamela;

Hosszú leírás:

The Godwinian Novel is a pioneering analysis of the school of fiction inaugurated by William Godwin, and developed in the works of his principal followers, Charles Brockden Brown and Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley.

In the first study of these authors as a historically specific group, Pamela Clemit argues for a greater unity between Godwin's fictional techniques and his radical political philosophy than has been perceived. Her analysis of the works of Brown and Mary Shelley, moreover, reveals how these writers modified, reshaped, and redefined Godwin's distinctive themes and techniques in response to shifting ideological pressures in the post-revolutionary period.

Examining prose ficiton in a period traditionally seen as dominated by poetry, Clemit stresses the necessity for a revised view of British Romanticism. Uncovering the links between Godwin's fictional analysis of sujective experience and his progressive political philosophy, The Godwinian Novel paves the way for a reappraisal of the apparently quietistic and introspective concerns of other writers of the period.

`to write ably and with little fuss or obvious polemic in an area where factions clash, and still to maintain a clearly discernable thesis with firmness and with concern for the reader's understanding and sympathy is rare ... This innovatory book ably demonstrates relationships between Godwin's fictions and his changing political ideas'
Durham University Journal