April London

Radical Utopias: History and the Novel in the 1790s

In their highly speculative engagements with alternative forms, utopias deny the determining power of history in ways that often serve as a rich source for the study of historical consciousness in literature. This is especially true of utopias written in the 1790s, a decade in which the revolutionary crisis made the meaning and uses of history key subjects of debate, and the conversion of readers an issue of fundamental concern to both reformers and conservatives.1 Reformers of die period attempt to disavow the influence of the past by representing historical narrative not as transparent or disinterested, but instead as determined by partisan defence ofelite privilege. To convince their audience that a genuinely different future could be secured through social change, they embed this mistrust of history writing within texts that propose more discretionary and private models for interpreting the past and anticipating the future.2 Utopian

Literary Historicity: Literature and Historical Experience in Eighteenth-Century Britain (review)

work. On the one hand, the book seems an ideal introduction or at least a broad summary of character; but, on the other hand, it relies upon the reader’s previous and extensive knowledge of a range of drama and novels from the long eighteenth century. This pre sump tion made the book more useful as a resource for dipping into rather than as a steady read. I found Eighteenth-Century Characters use ful while teach ing a recent undergraduate course on Restoration and eighteenthcentury drama for some specifics but of less interest as a sustained study of the period. In keeping with this introductory nature, McGirr provides a useful chronology that details current political and literary markers of the period. Six black-and-white illustrations, while not the clearest reproductions, definitely help define specific types; however, it would have been useful, especially for teaching purposes, to have had an illustration for each of the character types discussed. This useful, if uneven study provides some sound observations about character across a range of genres in the long eighteenth century. It is a serviceable resource for introducing and/or reminding the reader of the shifts in character throughout the period and for presenting some general suppositions for such shifts.