Must Read: Rediscovering American Bestsellers
The feel-good place to buy books
Must Read: Rediscovering American Bestsellers by Sarah Churchwell
A unique survey and interpretive history, spanning 200 years, of the American bestseller.
"Must Read breathes new life into the study of best-sellers, rescuing them from not only the enormous condescension of posterity but also from the flattering but often reductive readings of modern academicsWith its artful blend of textual analysis, historicization, and theoretical speculation, the contributors challenge us to reread and rethink a host of works, ranging from short stories and sentimental novellas to advice manuals and modern blockbusters. For anyone with an interest in the contours of American print culture from the eighteenth century to the present, Must Read is itself a must read work." -Leon Jackson, Associate Professor of English, University of South Carolina, USA
"Although the past two decades have seen a sizeable increase in scholarly interest in bestsellers in the American context, there remains a great deal of unexplored territory when it comes to such literature. Must Read goes a long way in addressing this deficiency by examining a tremendous range of such literature with great critical care, insight, and theoretical sophistication. Must Read is a must read for anyone interested in American bestsellers." -- Paul Gutjahr, Professor of English, American Studies, and Religious Studies, Indiana University, USA
"This pathbreaking collection provides a unique contribution to the study of American literature, bringing to the fore a broad survey of popular literature from a variety of eras and genres, and bringing to our attention a number of previously neglected yet essential bestselling works. A valuable addition to literary and cultural studies, Must Read is a must read for students and scholars of American popular culture and American literature more generally." -Lisa Botshon, Professor of English, University of Maine at Augusta
VERDICT: Recommended for readers interested in publishing trends and the rise and fall of popular American literature, and for the literary extremist. -- Annalisa Pesek * Library Journal *
Readers interested in the breadth of themes and modes of fictional expression will find plenty to intrigue them. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty. -- D.E. Sloane, University of New Haven * CHOICE *
"Although the past two decades have seen a sizeable increase in scholarly interest in bestsellers in the American context, there remains a great deal of unexplored territory when it comes to such literature. Must Read goes a long way in addressing this deficiency by examining a tremendous range of such literature with great critical care, insight, and theoretical sophistication. Must Read is a must read for anyone interested in American bestsellers." -- Paul Gutjahr, Professor of English, American Studies, and Religious Studies, Indiana University, USA
"This pathbreaking collection provides a unique contribution to the study of American literature, bringing to the fore a broad survey of popular literature from a variety of eras and genres, and bringing to our attention a number of previously neglected yet essential bestselling works. A valuable addition to literary and cultural studies, Must Read is a must read for students and scholars of American popular culture and American literature more generally." -Lisa Botshon, Professor of English, University of Maine at Augusta
VERDICT: Recommended for readers interested in publishing trends and the rise and fall of popular American literature, and for the literary extremist. -- Annalisa Pesek * Library Journal *
Readers interested in the breadth of themes and modes of fictional expression will find plenty to intrigue them. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty. -- D.E. Sloane, University of New Haven * CHOICE *
Sarah Churchwell is Professor of American Literature and Public Understanding of the Humanities at the University of East Anglia, UK. She is the author of The Many Lives of Marilyn Monroe (Granta 2004), and has published numerous scholarly articles and introductions. Her new book, Careless People, about F Scott Fitzgerald and The Great Gatsby will be published by Virago (UK) and Penguin (US) in early 2013. She has a monthly column on cultural criticism for the New Statesman, and writes regularly for newspapers and magazines, including the Guardian, the Independent, the Observer, the TLS, the New York Times Book Review, the Times, and the Telegraph. She frequently appears on television and radio, including as a regular panelist on The Review Show (BBC2).
Thomas Ruys Smith is a Lecturer in American Literature and Culture in the School of American Studies at the University of East Anglia, UK. He is the author of Southern Queen: New Orleans in the Nineteenth Century (Continuum, 2011), River of Dreams: Imagining the Mississippi Before Mark Twain (Louisiana State University Press, 2007) and the editor of Blacklegs, Card Sharps and Confidence Men: Nineteenth-Century Mississippi River Gambling Stories (Louisiana State University Press, 2010). He is currently at work on an exploration of Mark Twain's relationship with the Mississippi River.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9781441162168 |
| ISBN 10 | 144116216X |
| Title | Must Read: Rediscovering American Bestsellers |
| Author | Sarah Churchwell |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Bloomsbury Publishing Plc |
| Year published | 2012-10-04 |
| Number of pages | 384 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |