Eighteenth-Century Popular Culture

TRAMA

This book is a carefully annotated selection of eighteenth-century writings about popular culture. During the eighteenth century, popular culture assumed a peculiar importance. In the early part of the century, high and low cultures often collided. Later in the century, politeness more and more required the distancing of genteel from vulgar amusements. This collection rediscovers some of the energies of the low and the vulgar in the period by examining particular themes (crime, religious enthusiasm, popular politics, for example) and telling particular stories (the career of a notorious criminal, the exploits of a religious sect, John Wilkes and the crowd). It also illustrates how the very idea of popular culture was formed in the period, providing examples of the ways in which it was discussed both by those who were fearful of it and those who were fascinated by it.

NOTE EDITORE

This collection makes available what was once popular but has long been buried. During the eighteenth century, popular culture assumed a peculiar importance. In the early part of the century, high and low cultures often collided. Later in the century, politeness more and more required the distancing of genteel from vulgar amusements. This carefully annotated selection rediscovers some of the energies of the low and the vulgar in the period. It examines particular themes (crime, religious enthusiasm, popular politics, for example) by telling particular stories (the career of a notorious criminal, the exploits of a religious sect, John Wilkes and the crowd). It also illustrates how the very idea of popular culture was formed in the period, providing examples of the ways in which it was discussed both by those who were fearful of it and those who were fascinated by it.

SOMMARIO

1 - Eighteenth-Century Views of Popular Culture2 - Religious enthusiasm: the French Prophets, 1707-17113 - Fairgoers and Reformers: the Struggle for Bartholomew Fair4 - Almanacs: Astrology and Popular Protestantism5 - Crime: the Fortunes of Jack Sheppard6 - Custom and the Calendar: the Gregorian Reform and its Opponents7 - Popular Politics: John Wilkes and the Crowd, 1768-708 - Popular Perceptions of Empire: Native Americans in Britain in the 1760s

AUTORE

John Mullan is Senior Lecturer in English, University College, London Christopher Reid is Senior Lecturer in English, Queen Mary and Westfield College, University of London

ALTRE INFORMAZIONI

• Condizione: Nuovo
• ISBN: 9780198711353
• Dimensioni: 234 x 19.0 x 155 mm Ø 578 gr
• Formato: Brossura
• Illustration Notes: 8 halftones
• Pagine Arabe: 326