This widely-praised book looks at the rise and fall of 'Britishness' in literature over the last three centuries. Arguing that for much of its history the subject of 'English Literature' has been bound up with an assumed English cultural centre, Devolving English Literature examines the literary construction and questioning of a British (rather than simply English) literary identity. Surveying eighteenth and nineteenth-century writers, including Robert Burns, James Boswell, Walter Scott and Thomas Carlyle, Robert Crawford ...
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This widely-praised book looks at the rise and fall of 'Britishness' in literature over the last three centuries. Arguing that for much of its history the subject of 'English Literature' has been bound up with an assumed English cultural centre, Devolving English Literature examines the literary construction and questioning of a British (rather than simply English) literary identity. Surveying eighteenth and nineteenth-century writers, including Robert Burns, James Boswell, Walter Scott and Thomas Carlyle, Robert Crawford remaps literary history. He argues that Scottish and non-metropolitan authors left a crucial legacy to American literature, to the developing subject of anthropology, and to twentieth-century Modernism. In the work of T. S. Eliot, Ezra Pound, James Joyce, Hugh MacDiarmid and other Modernists there persist vitally 'provincial' as well as national elements. These continue to nourish the verse of sophisticated post-British 'barbarian' poets such as Seamus Heaney, Tony Harrison, Douglas Dunn, Les Murray, and Derek Walcott. More than that, they are bound up with the contemporary literature and politics of Britain after devolution. This second edition contains a substantial new chapter, 'Waving Citizens', which looks particularly at Scottish writing in the light of the political events that saw the establishment of a national Parliament in Edinburgh in 1999. Topics considered range from Walter Scott and European union to Trainspotting and right-wing politics. This new chapter argues for the need to read Scottish literature in ways that alert us not just to its political significance, but also to the breadth of its tonal spectrum, so that Muriel Spark and Kathleen Jamie are as much part of a redefined Scottish literary identity as are Irvine Welsh and James Kelman. Praise for the first edition: 'A stunning book: original, extraordinarily wide-ranging, coherent, reflective, and strongly argued.' - Susan Staves, Studies in English Literature 'Crawford's book produces a spine-icing thrill as new frontiers break open. It rethinks modern British literature with new meanings for students of history, politics, anthropology and sociology, and it does so with seminal clarity and captivating originality.' - Owen Dudley Edwards, New Statesman 'An incisive, indeed brilliant, critical investigation into Anglocentricity, nationalism and literature.' - Catherine Lockerbie, The Scotsman Key features: * Surveys the rise and fall of 'Britishness' in literature over three centuries. * New chapter (not in the first edition) surveys Scottish literature from a post-devolutionary perspective. * Includes material on US, Irish, English and Australian as well as Scottish literature. * Rave reviews for the first edition (1992).
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Add this copy of Devolving English Literature to cart. $13.87, very good condition, Sold by TextbookRush rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Grandview Hts, OH, UNITED STATES, published 2000 by Edinburgh University Press.
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Add this copy of Devolving English Literature to cart. $24.74, good condition, Sold by Anybook rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Lincoln, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2000 by Edinburgh University Press.
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This is an ex-library book and may have the usual library/used-book markings inside. This book has soft covers. In good all round condition. Please note the Image in this listing is a stock photo and may not match the covers of the actual item, 650grams, ISBN: 9780748614295.
Add this copy of Devolving English Literature to cart. $29.76, good condition, Sold by Anybook rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Lincoln, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2000 by Edinburgh University Press.
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This is an ex-library book and may have the usual library/used-book markings inside. This book has hardback covers. In good all round condition. No dust jacket. Re-bound by library. Please note the Image in this listing is a stock photo and may not match the covers of the actual item, 750grams, ISBN: 9780748614295.
Add this copy of Devolving English Literature to cart. $30.62, good condition, Sold by Anybook rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Lincoln, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2000 by Edinburgh University Press.
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Seller's Description:
This is an ex-library book and may have the usual library/used-book markings inside. This book has hardback covers. In good all round condition. No dust jacket. Re-bound by library. Please note the Image in this listing is a stock photo and may not match the covers of the actual item, 750grams, ISBN: 9780748614295.
Add this copy of Devolving English Literature to cart. $40.41, good condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2000 by Edinburgh University Press.
