Founded in Fiction: The Uses of Fiction in the Early United States

Early American writers were highly attuned to the fictionality of fiction, which they used to explore speculative knowledge and harness different varieties of fiction for social and political projects. Thomas Koenigs' Founded in Fiction challenges the "rise of novel" narrative by highlighting how many of the texts that have often been considered the earliest American novels defined themselves in contrast to the novel. It features original discussions of canonical and lesser-known writers, showing how these fictions structured American thinking about issues ranging from national politics to gendered authority to the intimate violence of slavery.

Format: Hardback
Length: 336 pages
Publication date: 15 June 2021
Publisher: Princeton University Press

In the early American republic, a significant shift occurred in the perception of fiction's role, with cultural authorities expressing concerns that it could mislead readers about reality. This belief prompted writers in the United States to delve deeper into the unique qualities of fiction, particularly its fictionality. Thomas Koenigs, in his book "Founded in Fiction," explores how these writers harnessed various forms of fiction to pursue social and political projects. Spanning from 1789 to 1861, "Founded in Fiction" challenges the prevailing narrative of the "rise of the novel" in American fiction studies by highlighting how many early American texts defined themselves as distinct from novels. These writers developed self-consciously extranovelistic varieties of fiction, aiming to reform political discourse, shape women's behavior, reconstruct a national past, and advance social criticism.

The book is ambitious in scope, featuring original discussions of a wide range of canonical and lesser-known writers, including Hugh Henry Brackenridge, Royall Tyler, Charles Brockden Brown, Leonora Sansay, Catharine Maria Sedgwick, Edgar Allan Poe, Robert Montgomery Bird, George Lippard, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Frederick Douglass, and Harriet Jacobs. By reframing the history of the novel in the United States as a history of competing varieties of fiction, "Founded in Fiction" demonstrates how these fictions shaped American thinking on various issues.

In conclusion, "Founded in Fiction" offers a fresh perspective on the importance of diverse forms of fiction in the early American republic. It challenges the notion that fiction-reading was solely for entertainment and highlights the unique knowledge and perspectives that fiction could create. Through its exploration of canonical and lesser-known writers, the book demonstrates how fiction was used to shape social and political projects, reform discourse, and reconstruct a national past. By reframing the history of the novel in the United States as a history of competing varieties of fiction, "Founded in Fiction" sheds light on how these fictions structured American thinking on a wide range of issues.

Weight: 692g
Dimension: 186 x 243 x 35 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780691188942