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 Disarmed Democracies by Sarah Wall-Randell
Cover of the book Broadway Rhythm by Sarah Wall-Randell
Cover of the book In the Red by Sarah Wall-Randell
Cover of the book Beyond the Veil of Knowledge by Sarah Wall-Randell
Cover of the book Imagining the Global by Sarah Wall-Randell
Cover of the book The Invention of Coinage and the Monetization of Ancient Greece by Sarah Wall-Randell
Cover of the book Communicative Biocapitalism by Sarah Wall-Randell
Cover of the book Snarl by Sarah Wall-Randell
Cover of the book How Sondheim Found His Sound by Sarah Wall-Randell
Cover of the book Shipwrecked by Sarah Wall-Randell
Cover of the book Archives, Documentation, and Institutions of Social Memory by Sarah Wall-Randell
Cover of the book The Chief Justice by Sarah Wall-Randell
Cover of the book Pivotal Voices, Era of Transition by Sarah Wall-Randell
Cover of the book After Live by Sarah Wall-Randell
Cover of the book Wealth Accumulation and Communities of Color in the United States 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