Victorian Fiction: Writers, Publishers, Readers
Apr 1995 · Springer
Ebook
191
Pages
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About this ebook
The proportion of Victorian novels in print today represents only a tiny fraction of what was published by this vast writing industry. Exact figures will never be known but we can estimate that around 50,000 works were produced by around 3,500 novelists during the Victorian era. But who wrote these novels and what inspired them to write? How were their novels published and how did they adapt their techniques to ensure the public's appetite for fiction was fed? Drawing on extensive research, John Sutherland builds up a fascinating picture of the cultural, social and commercial factors influencing the content and production of Victorian fiction. Collins, Dickens, Eliot, Thackeray and Trollope are discussed in tandem with writers also very popular with the reading public - Reade, Lytton and Mrs Humphry Ward - but whose fame has not endured. As John Sutherland demonstrates, author-publisher relations played a central role in determining the success of new novels, with some impressive achievements on both sides. Richly informative on the Victorian literary and cultural scene, this important study by one of our leading scholars is set to become essential reading for all those interested in the evolution of the Victorian novel.
About the author
John Sutherland was born on October 9, 1938. After graduating from the University of Leicester in 1964, he began his academic career as an assistant lecturer in Edinburgh. He specializes in Victorian fiction, 20th century literature, and the history of publishing. He is Lord Northcliffe Professor Emeritus of Modern English Literature at University College, London and is currently teaching at the California Institute of Technology. He writes for The Guardian and is a well-known literary reviewer. He is the author of more than 20 books including Stephen Spender: The Authorized Biography, How to Read a Novel: A User's Guide, The Boy Who Loved Books, Curiosities of Literature, 50 Literature Ideas You Really Need to Know, Lives of the Novelists: A History of Fiction in 294 Lives, and Magic Moments: Life-Changing Encounters with Books, Film, Music. He is also the co-author, with Stephen Fender, of Love, Sex, Death and Words: Tales from a Year in Literature.
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