Author: Alexa Aston
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781953455970
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :
Book Description
Who doesn't love a duke? How about five of them?Welcome to bestselling author Alexa Aston's new Regency romance series, the Dukes of Distinction! These five aristocrats all come with nicknames Polite Society has bestowed upon them. Renown. Charm. Disrepute. Arrogance. Honor.A beautiful widow at the mercy of selfish relatives . . .A duke broken by a terrible secret . . .Lady Elise Ruthersby is with child when her husband is killed, and the family awaits the birth to see who will be the new earl. A daughter arrives, relegating Elise to the status of a servant as she becomes the unpaid governess to her two nephews.Weston Wallace, the Duke of Treadwell, learns a devastating secret about his fiancée the night before their wedding, causing him to break their engagement. He becomes London's most notorious rake, with a rule that he only beds a woman once.When Elise and her daughter are trapped in a carriage struck by a flaming tree in a perilous storm, Weston rescues the pair. Years of cynicism fall to the wayside as he becomes captivated by the beautiful widow and her enchanting daughter. Weston decides he must marry the woman who has thawed his cold heart without scaring her away because of his vile reputation.The two strike a bargain where Elise will help Weston navigate the Marriage Mart during the upcoming Season if he will help her find a husband. Little does the unsuspecting widow know that London's most infamous womanizer has already decided who his duchess will be.Can the Duke of Disrepute convince Elise that he's a changed man-due to love?Find the answer in The Duke of Disrepute, Book 3 in the Dukes of Distinction.Each book in Dukes of Distinction is a standalone story that can be enjoyed out of order.Dukes of Distinction Series OrderDuke of RenownDuke of CharmDuke of DisreputeDuke of ArroganceDuke of Honor
Duke of Disrepute
Author: Alexa Aston
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781953455970
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :
Book Description
Who doesn't love a duke? How about five of them?Welcome to bestselling author Alexa Aston's new Regency romance series, the Dukes of Distinction! These five aristocrats all come with nicknames Polite Society has bestowed upon them. Renown. Charm. Disrepute. Arrogance. Honor.A beautiful widow at the mercy of selfish relatives . . .A duke broken by a terrible secret . . .Lady Elise Ruthersby is with child when her husband is killed, and the family awaits the birth to see who will be the new earl. A daughter arrives, relegating Elise to the status of a servant as she becomes the unpaid governess to her two nephews.Weston Wallace, the Duke of Treadwell, learns a devastating secret about his fiancée the night before their wedding, causing him to break their engagement. He becomes London's most notorious rake, with a rule that he only beds a woman once.When Elise and her daughter are trapped in a carriage struck by a flaming tree in a perilous storm, Weston rescues the pair. Years of cynicism fall to the wayside as he becomes captivated by the beautiful widow and her enchanting daughter. Weston decides he must marry the woman who has thawed his cold heart without scaring her away because of his vile reputation.The two strike a bargain where Elise will help Weston navigate the Marriage Mart during the upcoming Season if he will help her find a husband. Little does the unsuspecting widow know that London's most infamous womanizer has already decided who his duchess will be.Can the Duke of Disrepute convince Elise that he's a changed man-due to love?Find the answer in The Duke of Disrepute, Book 3 in the Dukes of Distinction.Each book in Dukes of Distinction is a standalone story that can be enjoyed out of order.Dukes of Distinction Series OrderDuke of RenownDuke of CharmDuke of DisreputeDuke of ArroganceDuke of Honor
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781953455970
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :
Book Description
Who doesn't love a duke? How about five of them?Welcome to bestselling author Alexa Aston's new Regency romance series, the Dukes of Distinction! These five aristocrats all come with nicknames Polite Society has bestowed upon them. Renown. Charm. Disrepute. Arrogance. Honor.A beautiful widow at the mercy of selfish relatives . . .A duke broken by a terrible secret . . .Lady Elise Ruthersby is with child when her husband is killed, and the family awaits the birth to see who will be the new earl. A daughter arrives, relegating Elise to the status of a servant as she becomes the unpaid governess to her two nephews.Weston Wallace, the Duke of Treadwell, learns a devastating secret about his fiancée the night before their wedding, causing him to break their engagement. He becomes London's most notorious rake, with a rule that he only beds a woman once.When Elise and her daughter are trapped in a carriage struck by a flaming tree in a perilous storm, Weston rescues the pair. Years of cynicism fall to the wayside as he becomes captivated by the beautiful widow and her enchanting daughter. Weston decides he must marry the woman who has thawed his cold heart without scaring her away because of his vile reputation.The two strike a bargain where Elise will help Weston navigate the Marriage Mart during the upcoming Season if he will help her find a husband. Little does the unsuspecting widow know that London's most infamous womanizer has already decided who his duchess will be.Can the Duke of Disrepute convince Elise that he's a changed man-due to love?Find the answer in The Duke of Disrepute, Book 3 in the Dukes of Distinction.Each book in Dukes of Distinction is a standalone story that can be enjoyed out of order.Dukes of Distinction Series OrderDuke of RenownDuke of CharmDuke of DisreputeDuke of ArroganceDuke of Honor
Duke of Renown
Author: Alexa Aston
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781953455598
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :
Book Description
Who doesn't love a duke? How about five of them?Welcome to bestselling author Alexa Aston's new Regency romance series, the Dukes of Distinction! These five aristocrats all come with nicknames Polite Society has bestowed upon them. Renown. Charm. Disrepute. Arrogance. Honor.A woman with a broken heart . . .A soldier who never dreamed he'd become a duke . . .Phoebe Smythe, Countess of Borwick, suffers a tragic miscarriage when she learns her husband and young son have been killed in a carriage accident. The grieving widow retreats to an isolated cottage on the coast of Cornwall, where she finds a smuggler who's washed ashore, blood leaking from a bullet wound.Captain Andrew Graham returns home from the Napoleonic Wars after the death of his older brother, finding his father on his deathbed. Soon he becomes the Duke of Windham and must deal not only with numerous responsibilities but his wayward half-brother, who has amassed a mountain of debt and then shoots Andrew so he can become the new duke.Andrew awakens to an angel of mercy, Mrs. Smith, a middle-class widow who nurses him back to health. She thinks he's a criminal, which amuses him, but he soon falls in love with her beauty and spirit. On the day he decides to ask for her hand in marriage, she disappears and he has no way to find her-until he spies her across a London ballroom.Though her heart belongs to the Cornish smuggler she left behind, Phoebe places herself once more on the Marriage Mart. She yearns to be a mother again-which means finding a husband.What will Phoebe do when she learns that her Mr. Andrew is none other than the famous Duke of Renown?
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781953455598
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :
Book Description
Who doesn't love a duke? How about five of them?Welcome to bestselling author Alexa Aston's new Regency romance series, the Dukes of Distinction! These five aristocrats all come with nicknames Polite Society has bestowed upon them. Renown. Charm. Disrepute. Arrogance. Honor.A woman with a broken heart . . .A soldier who never dreamed he'd become a duke . . .Phoebe Smythe, Countess of Borwick, suffers a tragic miscarriage when she learns her husband and young son have been killed in a carriage accident. The grieving widow retreats to an isolated cottage on the coast of Cornwall, where she finds a smuggler who's washed ashore, blood leaking from a bullet wound.Captain Andrew Graham returns home from the Napoleonic Wars after the death of his older brother, finding his father on his deathbed. Soon he becomes the Duke of Windham and must deal not only with numerous responsibilities but his wayward half-brother, who has amassed a mountain of debt and then shoots Andrew so he can become the new duke.Andrew awakens to an angel of mercy, Mrs. Smith, a middle-class widow who nurses him back to health. She thinks he's a criminal, which amuses him, but he soon falls in love with her beauty and spirit. On the day he decides to ask for her hand in marriage, she disappears and he has no way to find her-until he spies her across a London ballroom.Though her heart belongs to the Cornish smuggler she left behind, Phoebe places herself once more on the Marriage Mart. She yearns to be a mother again-which means finding a husband.What will Phoebe do when she learns that her Mr. Andrew is none other than the famous Duke of Renown?
Unmasking the Duke's Mistress
Author: Margaret McPhee
Publisher: Harlequin
ISBN: 1459282159
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 267
Book Description
Shocking surprises await a duke when he steps inside a London brothel in this Regency romance series opener. With trembling hands Arabella dons the mask of Miss Noir for her first night at Mrs. Silver’s House of Pleasures. Thinking of her young son, she prepares to smile prettily at the next gentleman who enters. . . . Dominic Furneaux, Duke of Arlesford, is stunned to see that the woman who shattered his heart has fallen so low. He offers her a way out—by making her his mistress! The temptation to reacquaint herself with Dominic’s body is hard for Arabella to resist, but Dominic needs only to look into the eyes of her son to uncover Arabella’s deepest secret . . .
Publisher: Harlequin
ISBN: 1459282159
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 267
Book Description
Shocking surprises await a duke when he steps inside a London brothel in this Regency romance series opener. With trembling hands Arabella dons the mask of Miss Noir for her first night at Mrs. Silver’s House of Pleasures. Thinking of her young son, she prepares to smile prettily at the next gentleman who enters. . . . Dominic Furneaux, Duke of Arlesford, is stunned to see that the woman who shattered his heart has fallen so low. He offers her a way out—by making her his mistress! The temptation to reacquaint herself with Dominic’s body is hard for Arabella to resist, but Dominic needs only to look into the eyes of her son to uncover Arabella’s deepest secret . . .
To Bedevil a Duke
Author: Tamara Gill
Publisher: Tamara Gill
ISBN:
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 115
Book Description
A Duke of many rules. A Lady of independence. Since her cheating husband created a scandal by dying beneath his whore, Darcy de Merle is determined to enjoy widowhood, and refuses to mourn a man she grew to loathe. Setting the ton ablaze, Darcy holds a ball to re-launch herself into Society on the anniversary of his death. Cameron, the Duke of Athelby plays by the rules. Always. He’s lived through the terrible consequences of what revelry, carelessness, and lack of respect for one’s social position can have on a family. So, when he sees Darcy de Merle skirting the boundaries of respectability, it is only right that he should remind her of the proper etiquette that she should adhere to. Darcy refuses to allow another man to tell her what to do. When the Duke of Athelby chastises her at every turn, reminding her of her social failures, well, there is only one thing to be done about it…seduce the duke and show him there is more to life than the proper conventions set by the ton. A battle of wills ensues where all bets are off, numerous rules are broken and love becomes the ultimate reward.
Publisher: Tamara Gill
ISBN:
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 115
Book Description
A Duke of many rules. A Lady of independence. Since her cheating husband created a scandal by dying beneath his whore, Darcy de Merle is determined to enjoy widowhood, and refuses to mourn a man she grew to loathe. Setting the ton ablaze, Darcy holds a ball to re-launch herself into Society on the anniversary of his death. Cameron, the Duke of Athelby plays by the rules. Always. He’s lived through the terrible consequences of what revelry, carelessness, and lack of respect for one’s social position can have on a family. So, when he sees Darcy de Merle skirting the boundaries of respectability, it is only right that he should remind her of the proper etiquette that she should adhere to. Darcy refuses to allow another man to tell her what to do. When the Duke of Athelby chastises her at every turn, reminding her of her social failures, well, there is only one thing to be done about it…seduce the duke and show him there is more to life than the proper conventions set by the ton. A battle of wills ensues where all bets are off, numerous rules are broken and love becomes the ultimate reward.
Duke of Arrogance
Author: Alexa Aston
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781953455987
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 350
Book Description
A woman spurned by the ton . . .A duke harboring an appalling secret . . .Life radically changes for Arabella Jennings, the daughter of an Oxford don, when her father becomes the Earl of Barrington. She's an intellectual who would rather be discussing Shakespeare's works but now finds herself navigating the vicious waters of Polite Society.Jonathan Sutton's twin dies, making him the new Duke of Blackmore. Pledging to live for both himself and Arch, Jon becomes one of London's leading rakes, breaking rules and bedding women as his brother would have done had he lived.Jon meets Arabella the first night of the Season and decides this woman, so different from every conquest he's made, might help him from the abyss he's sunk into.Can a bluestocking with a quick wit tame the disreputable Duke of Arrogance-and save his soul?Find the answer in The Duke of Arrogance, Book 4 in the Dukes of Distinction.Each book in Dukes of Distinction is a standalone story that can be enjoyed out of order.Dukes of Distinction Series Order:Duke of RenownDuke of CharmDuke of DisreputeDuke of ArroganceDuke of Honor
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781953455987
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 350
Book Description
A woman spurned by the ton . . .A duke harboring an appalling secret . . .Life radically changes for Arabella Jennings, the daughter of an Oxford don, when her father becomes the Earl of Barrington. She's an intellectual who would rather be discussing Shakespeare's works but now finds herself navigating the vicious waters of Polite Society.Jonathan Sutton's twin dies, making him the new Duke of Blackmore. Pledging to live for both himself and Arch, Jon becomes one of London's leading rakes, breaking rules and bedding women as his brother would have done had he lived.Jon meets Arabella the first night of the Season and decides this woman, so different from every conquest he's made, might help him from the abyss he's sunk into.Can a bluestocking with a quick wit tame the disreputable Duke of Arrogance-and save his soul?Find the answer in The Duke of Arrogance, Book 4 in the Dukes of Distinction.Each book in Dukes of Distinction is a standalone story that can be enjoyed out of order.Dukes of Distinction Series Order:Duke of RenownDuke of CharmDuke of DisreputeDuke of ArroganceDuke of Honor
Duke of Charm
Author: Alexa Aston
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781953455963
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :
Book Description
A woman unjustly imprisoned . . .A duke jilted at the altar . . .Lady Samantha Wallace has been in love since childhood with her brother's best friend, the Duke of Colebourne, but George only sees her as a little sister. She weds a viscount who is George's opposite, only to find herself trapped in a miserable marriage. When she becomes a widow, she is held against her will and finally escapes, vowing to live life her own way and never be controlled again.George is jilted at the altar and becomes one of London's most scandalous rakes, bedding women left and right. After years of being the Duke of Charm, though, George is tired of his meaningless existence and decides he is ready for a change-which includes finding Sam, who is now a widow, and asking her to be his duchess.Fate brings George and Samantha together at a house party, where their desire for one another ignites in a torrid encounter. Yet Samantha refuses to wed George. Determined to learn Sam's secrets and make her his, George will do whatever it takes to fight for the woman he's always loved in secret.Will Samantha be able to escape the past that still haunts her and find happiness with the Duke of Charm?Find the answer in The Duke of Charm, Book 2 in the Dukes of Distinction.Each book in Dukes of Distinction is a standalone story that can be enjoyed out of order.Dukes of Distinction Series OrderDuke of RenownDuke of CharmDuke of DisreputeDuke of ArroganceDuke of Honor
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781953455963
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :
Book Description
A woman unjustly imprisoned . . .A duke jilted at the altar . . .Lady Samantha Wallace has been in love since childhood with her brother's best friend, the Duke of Colebourne, but George only sees her as a little sister. She weds a viscount who is George's opposite, only to find herself trapped in a miserable marriage. When she becomes a widow, she is held against her will and finally escapes, vowing to live life her own way and never be controlled again.George is jilted at the altar and becomes one of London's most scandalous rakes, bedding women left and right. After years of being the Duke of Charm, though, George is tired of his meaningless existence and decides he is ready for a change-which includes finding Sam, who is now a widow, and asking her to be his duchess.Fate brings George and Samantha together at a house party, where their desire for one another ignites in a torrid encounter. Yet Samantha refuses to wed George. Determined to learn Sam's secrets and make her his, George will do whatever it takes to fight for the woman he's always loved in secret.Will Samantha be able to escape the past that still haunts her and find happiness with the Duke of Charm?Find the answer in The Duke of Charm, Book 2 in the Dukes of Distinction.Each book in Dukes of Distinction is a standalone story that can be enjoyed out of order.Dukes of Distinction Series OrderDuke of RenownDuke of CharmDuke of DisreputeDuke of ArroganceDuke of Honor
Mistress to the Marquis
Author: Margaret McPhee
Publisher: Harlequin
ISBN: 0373297467
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 282
Book Description
She may grace his bed, but she will never wear his ring They whisper her name in the ballroom's shadows—the marquis's mistress! It will take all of Alice Sweetly's renowned acting skills to play this part: smile until it no longer hurts, until they believe your lie, until you believe. Pretend he means nothing. If the Marquis of Razeby thinks he can let his mistress go easily, he is so very wrong. Each night she appears before a rapturous Covent Garden audience, taunting him with her beauty. But Razeby must marry, and while Alice could grace his bed she can never grace his arm.
Publisher: Harlequin
ISBN: 0373297467
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 282
Book Description
She may grace his bed, but she will never wear his ring They whisper her name in the ballroom's shadows—the marquis's mistress! It will take all of Alice Sweetly's renowned acting skills to play this part: smile until it no longer hurts, until they believe your lie, until you believe. Pretend he means nothing. If the Marquis of Razeby thinks he can let his mistress go easily, he is so very wrong. Each night she appears before a rapturous Covent Garden audience, taunting him with her beauty. But Razeby must marry, and while Alice could grace his bed she can never grace his arm.
A Woman Entangled
Author: Cecilia Grant
Publisher: Bantam
ISBN: 0345532570
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 338
Book Description
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY RT BOOK REVIEWS • An ambitious beauty seeking a spot among the elite is thwarted by a most disruptive gentleman in Cecilia Grant’s witty, elegant, and exquisitely sensual novel. Kate Westbrook has dreams far bigger than romance. Love won’t get her into London’s most consequential parties, nor prevent her sisters from being snubbed and looked down upon—all because their besotted father unadvisedly married an actress. But a noble husband for Kate would deliver a future most suited to the granddaughter of an earl. Armed with ingenuity, breathtaking beauty, and the help of an idle aunt with connections, Kate is poised to make her dreams come true. Unfortunately, a familiar face—albeit a maddeningly handsome one—appears bent on upsetting her scheme. Implored by Kate’s worried father to fend off the rogues eager to exploit his daughter’s charms, Nick Blackshear has set aside the torch he’s carried for Kate in order to do right by his friend. Anyway, she made quite clear that his feelings were not returned—though policing her won’t abate Nick’s desire. Reckless passion leads to love’s awakening, but time is running out. Kate must see for herself that the charms of high society are nothing compared to the infinite sweet pleasures demanded by the heart. Praise for A Woman Entangled “In the third of her Blackshear family series, Grant tackles class distinction and complex family dynamics in a wonderful sensual romance and witty tale in the style of Jane Austen . . . Grant skillfully takes a shallow, immature heroine and develops her into a likable, admirable grown woman. Grant is a smart, innovative, clever writer.”—RT Book Reviews “Wielding a deliciously sharp wit that even Jane Austen would envy, Grant delivers yet another cleverly conceived and deftly choreographed Regency historical that is both lushly sensual and thoroughly romantic. Readers who have yet to discover Grant’s impeccably written romances are in for a rare treat.”—Booklist (starred review) “An emotionally rich, sensually lush romance.”—Kirkus Reviews “Cecilia Grant is swiftly becoming one of my favorite historical romance authors, with her complex characters and thoughtful explorations of how their historical period shapes them. If you love multifaceted stories, definitely give her work a try!”—Heroes and Heartbreakers “The writing and characterization is every bit as good as I’ve come to expect, and Ms. Grant’s economic, restrained style works beautifully to allow the depth of emotion that bubbles under the surface throughout the story to speak for itself. There is no verbiage for the sake of it; this author pays her readers the huge compliment of trusting us with her material and letting us work things out for ourselves.”—All About Romance
Publisher: Bantam
ISBN: 0345532570
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 338
Book Description
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY RT BOOK REVIEWS • An ambitious beauty seeking a spot among the elite is thwarted by a most disruptive gentleman in Cecilia Grant’s witty, elegant, and exquisitely sensual novel. Kate Westbrook has dreams far bigger than romance. Love won’t get her into London’s most consequential parties, nor prevent her sisters from being snubbed and looked down upon—all because their besotted father unadvisedly married an actress. But a noble husband for Kate would deliver a future most suited to the granddaughter of an earl. Armed with ingenuity, breathtaking beauty, and the help of an idle aunt with connections, Kate is poised to make her dreams come true. Unfortunately, a familiar face—albeit a maddeningly handsome one—appears bent on upsetting her scheme. Implored by Kate’s worried father to fend off the rogues eager to exploit his daughter’s charms, Nick Blackshear has set aside the torch he’s carried for Kate in order to do right by his friend. Anyway, she made quite clear that his feelings were not returned—though policing her won’t abate Nick’s desire. Reckless passion leads to love’s awakening, but time is running out. Kate must see for herself that the charms of high society are nothing compared to the infinite sweet pleasures demanded by the heart. Praise for A Woman Entangled “In the third of her Blackshear family series, Grant tackles class distinction and complex family dynamics in a wonderful sensual romance and witty tale in the style of Jane Austen . . . Grant skillfully takes a shallow, immature heroine and develops her into a likable, admirable grown woman. Grant is a smart, innovative, clever writer.”—RT Book Reviews “Wielding a deliciously sharp wit that even Jane Austen would envy, Grant delivers yet another cleverly conceived and deftly choreographed Regency historical that is both lushly sensual and thoroughly romantic. Readers who have yet to discover Grant’s impeccably written romances are in for a rare treat.”—Booklist (starred review) “An emotionally rich, sensually lush romance.”—Kirkus Reviews “Cecilia Grant is swiftly becoming one of my favorite historical romance authors, with her complex characters and thoughtful explorations of how their historical period shapes them. If you love multifaceted stories, definitely give her work a try!”—Heroes and Heartbreakers “The writing and characterization is every bit as good as I’ve come to expect, and Ms. Grant’s economic, restrained style works beautifully to allow the depth of emotion that bubbles under the surface throughout the story to speak for itself. There is no verbiage for the sake of it; this author pays her readers the huge compliment of trusting us with her material and letting us work things out for ourselves.”—All About Romance
Mapping Ideology
Author: Slavoj Zizek
Publisher: Verso Books
ISBN: 1844675548
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 353
Book Description
For a long time, the term ‘ideology’ was in disrepute, having become associated with such unfashionable notions as fundamental truth and the eternal verities. The tide has turned, and recent years have seen a revival of interest in the questions that ideology poses to social and cultural theory, and to political practice. Mapping Ideology is a comprehensive reader covering the most important contemporary writing on the subject. Including Slavoj Žižek’s study of the development of the concept from Marx to the present, assessments of the contributions of Lukács and the Frankfurt School by Terry Eagleton, Peter Dews and Seyla Benhabib, and essays by Adorno, Lacan and Althusser, Mapping Ideology is an invaluable guide to the most dynamic field in cultural theory.
Publisher: Verso Books
ISBN: 1844675548
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 353
Book Description
For a long time, the term ‘ideology’ was in disrepute, having become associated with such unfashionable notions as fundamental truth and the eternal verities. The tide has turned, and recent years have seen a revival of interest in the questions that ideology poses to social and cultural theory, and to political practice. Mapping Ideology is a comprehensive reader covering the most important contemporary writing on the subject. Including Slavoj Žižek’s study of the development of the concept from Marx to the present, assessments of the contributions of Lukács and the Frankfurt School by Terry Eagleton, Peter Dews and Seyla Benhabib, and essays by Adorno, Lacan and Althusser, Mapping Ideology is an invaluable guide to the most dynamic field in cultural theory.
When Novels Were Books
Author: Jordan Alexander Stein
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0674987047
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 273
Book Description
A literary scholar explains how eighteenth-century novels were manufactured, sold, bought, owned, collected, and read alongside Protestant religious texts. As the novel developed into a mature genre, it had to distinguish itself from these similar-looking books and become what we now call “literature.” Literary scholars have explained the rise of the Anglophone novel using a range of tools, from Ian Watt’s theories to James Watt’s inventions. Contrary to established narratives, When Novels Were Books reveals that the genre beloved of so many readers today was not born secular, national, middle-class, or female. For the first three centuries of their history, novels came into readers’ hands primarily as printed sheets ordered into a codex bound along one edge between boards or paper wrappers. Consequently, they shared some formal features of other codices, such as almanacs and Protestant religious books produced by the same printers. Novels are often mistakenly credited for developing a formal feature (“character”) that was in fact incubated in religious books. The novel did not emerge all at once: it had to differentiate itself from the goods with which it was in competition. Though it was written for sequential reading, the early novel’s main technology for dissemination was the codex, a platform designed for random access. This peculiar circumstance led to the genre’s insistence on continuous, cover-to-cover reading even as the “media platform” it used encouraged readers to dip in and out at will and read discontinuously. Jordan Alexander Stein traces this tangled history, showing how the physical format of the book shaped the stories that were fit to print.
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0674987047
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 273
Book Description
A literary scholar explains how eighteenth-century novels were manufactured, sold, bought, owned, collected, and read alongside Protestant religious texts. As the novel developed into a mature genre, it had to distinguish itself from these similar-looking books and become what we now call “literature.” Literary scholars have explained the rise of the Anglophone novel using a range of tools, from Ian Watt’s theories to James Watt’s inventions. Contrary to established narratives, When Novels Were Books reveals that the genre beloved of so many readers today was not born secular, national, middle-class, or female. For the first three centuries of their history, novels came into readers’ hands primarily as printed sheets ordered into a codex bound along one edge between boards or paper wrappers. Consequently, they shared some formal features of other codices, such as almanacs and Protestant religious books produced by the same printers. Novels are often mistakenly credited for developing a formal feature (“character”) that was in fact incubated in religious books. The novel did not emerge all at once: it had to differentiate itself from the goods with which it was in competition. Though it was written for sequential reading, the early novel’s main technology for dissemination was the codex, a platform designed for random access. This peculiar circumstance led to the genre’s insistence on continuous, cover-to-cover reading even as the “media platform” it used encouraged readers to dip in and out at will and read discontinuously. Jordan Alexander Stein traces this tangled history, showing how the physical format of the book shaped the stories that were fit to print.