Although the emergence of the English novel is generally regarded as an eighteenth-century phenomenon, this is the first book to be published professing to cover the 'eighteenth-century English novel' in its entirety. This Handbook surveys the development of the English novel during the 'long' eighteenth century-in other words, from the later seventeenth century right through to the first three decades of the nineteenth century when, with the publication of the novels of Jane Austen and Walter Scott, 'the novel' finally gained critical acceptance and assumed the position of cultural hegemony it enjoyed for over a century. By situating the novels of the period which are still read today against the background of the hundreds published between 1660 and 1830, this Handbook not only covers those 'masters and mistresses' of early prose fiction-such as Defoe, Richardson, Fielding, Sterne, Burney, Scott and Austen-who are still acknowledged to be seminal figures in the emergence and development of the English novel, but also the significant number of recently-rediscovered novelists who were popular in their own day. At the same time, its comprehensive coverage of cultural contexts not considered by any existing study, but which are central to the emergence of the novel, such as the book trade and the mechanics of book production, copyright and censorship, the growth of the reading public, the economics of culture both in London and in the provinces, and the re-printing of popular fiction after 1774, offers unique insight into the making of the English novel.

About the Author
J. A. Downie is Professor of English at Goldsmiths, University of London, where he was formerly Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Pro-Warden (Academic). The author of five monographs, he has also edited three collections of essays, as well as editions of Defoe's political and social writings for Pickering & Chatto's The Complete Works of Daniel Defoe. For many years he was the editor of the section of The Scriblerian devoted to Defoe and the Early Novelists. His most recent book is A Political Biography of Henry Fielding.

Reviews
As a vehicle for "critical and contextual commentary," the Handbook succeeds and occasionally even delights. Its two parts, divided chronologically pre- and post-1770, offer social, material, and literary context forsubsequent discussions of particular authors and genres. * Kristina Booker, University of Oklahoma, Eighteenth-Century Fiction *
An extremely helpful compendium of essays which both define and outline the major contextual factors outlining the development of the eighteenth-century novel ... Downie's collection primes both newcomers to the subject area and professional scholars, with accounts of the economic underpinnings of the production, illustration, selling, and reviewing of novels, as well as their intersection with religious writing, travel literature, political 'secret histories', philosophy and such sub-genres as the evangelical novel and the anti-Jacobin novel. The Handbook contains thirty-four chapters, and provides comprehensive coverage of the main genres, movements, and authors of our period ... Overall, the Oxford Handbook of the Eighteenth-Century Novel is an extremely helpful reference point for both scholars and undergraduates. * The Year's Work in English Studies *
[Several chapters] provide lively introductions to texts and debates while also putting forward a clear line of argument: just a few examples include Cynthia Wall on travel literature, Gillian Dow on cross-Channel relationships between France and England (which, despite its placement in the volume, covers the entire period to 1830), Antonia Forster on book reviews, and Scott Black on 'Henry Fielding and the Progress of Romance'. * Natasha Simonova, The BARS Review *
all these essays are brilliantly conceived and wonderfully executed. This volume is far better than what we usually think of when we think of the handbook genre. This makes for fascinating reading, and it would be a wonderful addition to any undergraduate class. Many of the essays have this added pedagogical function, and that is in part what makes this volume such a wonder. The other wonderful feature is the combined power of these works. It really feels as if we are getting the newest ideas and the supplest accounts of how novels functioned in eighteenth-century culture. This will be a book to treasure for some time to come. * George E. Haggerty, SEL Studies in English Literature 1500-1900 *



Book Information
ISBN 9780199566747
Author J. A. Downie
Format Hardback
Page Count 620
Imprint Oxford University Press
Publisher Oxford University Press
Weight(grams) 1g
Dimensions(mm) 248mm * 185mm * 38mm