| FT-52963-04 | Research Programs: Summer Stipends | Susan M. Ryan | The Moral Economies of American Authorship, 1830-1870 | 5/1/2004 - 7/31/2004 | $5,000.00 | Susan | M. | Ryan | | | | University of Louisville | Louisville | KY | 40292-0001 | USA | 2004 | Literature, General | Summer Stipends | Research Programs | 5000 | 0 | 5000 | 0 |
This project investigates the interdependence of two phenomena in nineteenth-century America: the professionalization of authorship and the widespread interest in the moral character of individual writers. Specifically, I will test the hypothesis that, in the context of a burgeoning domestic book trade, the moral respectability of authors became a key element in the marketing of books. I hope to show that authorial character, however subject to debate within the era's print culture, served as a crucial register of judgment, one that not only influenced the sales and reception of particular texts, but that shaped the very idea of authorship. |