The Immaterial Book

Reading and Romance in Early Modern England

Nonfiction, History, Renaissance, Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism, British
Cover of the book The Immaterial Book by Sarah Wall-Randell, University of Michigan Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Sarah Wall-Randell ISBN: 9780472029143
Publisher: University of Michigan Press Publication: October 28, 2013
Imprint: University of Michigan Press Language: English
Author: Sarah Wall-Randell
ISBN: 9780472029143
Publisher: University of Michigan Press
Publication: October 28, 2013
Imprint: University of Michigan Press
Language: English

In romances—Renaissance England’s version of the fantasy novel—characters often discover books that turn out to be magical or prophetic, and to offer insights into their readers’ selves. The Immaterial Book examines scenes of reading in important romance texts across genres: Spenser’s Faerie Queene, Shakespeare’s Cymbeline and The Tempest, Wroth’s Urania, and Cervantes’ Don Quixote. It offers a response to “material book studies” by calling for a new focus on imaginary or “immaterial” books and argues that early modern romance authors, rather than replicating contemporary reading practices within their texts, are reviving ancient and medieval ideas of the book as a conceptual framework, which they use to investigate urgent, new ideas about the self and the self-conscious mind.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

In romances—Renaissance England’s version of the fantasy novel—characters often discover books that turn out to be magical or prophetic, and to offer insights into their readers’ selves. The Immaterial Book examines scenes of reading in important romance texts across genres: Spenser’s Faerie Queene, Shakespeare’s Cymbeline and The Tempest, Wroth’s Urania, and Cervantes’ Don Quixote. It offers a response to “material book studies” by calling for a new focus on imaginary or “immaterial” books and argues that early modern romance authors, rather than replicating contemporary reading practices within their texts, are reviving ancient and medieval ideas of the book as a conceptual framework, which they use to investigate urgent, new ideas about the self and the self-conscious mind.

More books from University of Michigan Press

Cover of the book Medieval Women and Their Objects by Sarah Wall-Randell
Cover of the book Games, Information, and Politics by Sarah Wall-Randell
Cover of the book Skate Life by Sarah Wall-Randell
Cover of the book Triumph of the Fatherland by Sarah Wall-Randell
Cover of the book The Cultural Politics of Slam Poetry by Sarah Wall-Randell
Cover of the book This Gaming Life by Sarah Wall-Randell
Cover of the book The Morality of Laughter by Sarah Wall-Randell
Cover of the book Bytes and Backbeats by Sarah Wall-Randell
Cover of the book Classical Spies by Sarah Wall-Randell
Cover of the book Illusive Utopia by Sarah Wall-Randell
Cover of the book More Secure, Less Free? by Sarah Wall-Randell
Cover of the book The Vernor's Story by Sarah Wall-Randell
Cover of the book Political Survival of Small Parties in Europe by Sarah Wall-Randell
Cover of the book The Holocaust, Corporations, and the Law by Sarah Wall-Randell
Cover of the book Foreign Policy and Congress by Sarah Wall-Randell
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy