9 Ways of thinking, ways of writing
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Marion Leclair
Abstract
In her essay Marion Leclair studies the novels of Godwin, Holcroft and Bage from the perspective of novelistic conventions. She argues that the fact that these eighteenth-century British radical novelists posed a challenge to established authority is reflected in the form of their novels. She explains how Godwin, Holcroft and Bage subverted three components of the prevailing novelistic order – style, plot and narration. She insists that the works of all three express a criticism of the conventional style of novels, seen as formulaic and untrue to life. In return, they had an embryonic stylistic programme for their novels which rejected the conventional style of such highly popular and marketable novels as sentimental novels and gothic romances. Leclair concludes that recasting the conventional novelistic mould allowed these writers to challenge the politics and morals of their time.
Abstract
In her essay Marion Leclair studies the novels of Godwin, Holcroft and Bage from the perspective of novelistic conventions. She argues that the fact that these eighteenth-century British radical novelists posed a challenge to established authority is reflected in the form of their novels. She explains how Godwin, Holcroft and Bage subverted three components of the prevailing novelistic order – style, plot and narration. She insists that the works of all three express a criticism of the conventional style of novels, seen as formulaic and untrue to life. In return, they had an embryonic stylistic programme for their novels which rejected the conventional style of such highly popular and marketable novels as sentimental novels and gothic romances. Leclair concludes that recasting the conventional novelistic mould allowed these writers to challenge the politics and morals of their time.
Chapters in this book
- Front matter i
- Contents v
- List of contributors vii
- Introduction 1
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PART I Radical language and themes
- 1 Community of goods 41
- 2 Thomas Paine’s democratic linguistic radicalism 60
- 3 English radicalism in the 1650s 80
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PART II Radical exchanges and networks
- 4 Secular millenarianism as a radical utopian project in Shaftesbury 103
- 5 The diffusion and impact of Baron d’Holbach’s texts in Great Britain, 1765–1800 125
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PART III Radical media and practices
- 6 The parliamentary context of political radicalism in the English revolution 151
- 7 Toasting and the diffusion of radical ideas, 1780–1832 170
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PART IV Radical fiction and representation
- 8 Contesting the press-oppressors of the age 193
- 9 Ways of thinking, ways of writing 211
- 10 ‘The insane enthusiasm of the time’ 229
- Select bibliography 251
- Index 270
Chapters in this book
- Front matter i
- Contents v
- List of contributors vii
- Introduction 1
-
PART I Radical language and themes
- 1 Community of goods 41
- 2 Thomas Paine’s democratic linguistic radicalism 60
- 3 English radicalism in the 1650s 80
-
PART II Radical exchanges and networks
- 4 Secular millenarianism as a radical utopian project in Shaftesbury 103
- 5 The diffusion and impact of Baron d’Holbach’s texts in Great Britain, 1765–1800 125
-
PART III Radical media and practices
- 6 The parliamentary context of political radicalism in the English revolution 151
- 7 Toasting and the diffusion of radical ideas, 1780–1832 170
-
PART IV Radical fiction and representation
- 8 Contesting the press-oppressors of the age 193
- 9 Ways of thinking, ways of writing 211
- 10 ‘The insane enthusiasm of the time’ 229
- Select bibliography 251
- Index 270
