British Fiction and Social Change, 1770s through 1830s

FAIN: FA-12076-78

Francis R. Hart
University of Massachusetts, Boston (Boston, MA 02125-3300)

To complete research and writing a book concerning the British novel and social change from the 1770s - the 1830s. The book will be in 6 sections each focusing on a central feature of social change as a source and context of fiction, a condition of fictional method, and a central thematic problem in novels, and each analyzing the social objectives and impacts of fiction. Novelists studied include Austen, Edgeworth, Radcliffe, Scott among others. Study will consider the "romantic period" without primary reference to poetry and poetic theory.