Picturing the Reader: Reading and Representation in the Long Nineteenth Century

This collection examines the visual and textual representations of readers in the long nineteenth century, highlighting the importance of visual culture in shaping how people read and thought about reading. It brings together historians, literary scholars, and art historians using a range of methodologies to explore ideas of readership found in fine art, photography, arts and craft, illustration, novels, diaries, and essays. The volume demonstrates how an interdisciplinary approach can enrich and advance the field of readership studies.

Format: Hardback
Length: 270 pages
Publication date: 13 May 2022
Publisher: Peter Lang International Academic Publishers

The long nineteenth century witnessed a remarkable surge in the production and consumption of books, leading to the emergence of diverse visual and textual discourses surrounding reading. This collection delves into a diverse array of visual and textual representations of readers produced during this period, exploring how these representations interacted with key concerns of the time, including literary value, gender formation, familial relationships, leisure pursuits, and technological advancements. While traditional approaches to gauging Victorian conceptions of reading have often relied on textual sources, this book recognizes and emphasizes the significance of visual culture, often in conversation with textual evidence, in shaping the ways individuals read and thought about reading. By bringing together historians, literary scholars, and art historians employing a range of methodologies and theoretical frameworks, this volume aims to enrich and advance the field of readership studies by exploring the visual iconography of readers and reading.

The long nineteenth century saw a remarkable proliferation in the production and consumption of books, resulting in the emergence of diverse visual and textual discourses surrounding reading. This collection examines a wide range of visual and textual representations of readers produced during this period, exploring how these representations engaged with critical issues of the time, including literary value, gender formation, familial relationships, leisure pursuits, and technological advancements. While traditional approaches to understanding Victorian conceptions of reading have often relied on textual sources, this book recognizes and emphasizes the significance of visual culture, often in dialogue with textual evidence, in shaping the ways individuals read and thought about reading. By bringing together historians, literary scholars, and art historians employing a diverse range of methodologies and theoretical frameworks, this volume seeks to enrich and advance the field of readership studies by exploring the visual iconography of readers and reading.

The long nineteenth century witnessed a remarkable surge in the production and consumption of books, leading to the emergence of diverse visual and textual discourses surrounding reading. This collection delves into a diverse array of visual and textual representations of readers produced during this period, exploring how these representations interacted with key concerns of the time, including literary value, gender formation, familial relationships, leisure pursuits, and technological advancements. While traditional approaches to gauging Victorian conceptions of reading have often relied on textual sources, this book recognizes and emphasizes the significance of visual culture, often in conversation with textual evidence, in shaping the ways individuals read and thought about reading. By bringing together historians, literary scholars, and art historians employing a range of methodologies and theoretical frameworks, this volume aims to enrich and advance the field of readership studies by exploring the visual iconography of readers and reading.

Weight: 491g
Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781788747127
Edition number: New ed