Introduction: Reading, Reception, and the Rise of Transatlantic ‘English’

Abstract

Uncovering the extent to which ‘English’ functioned as a transnational, rather than a national construct, the editors' introduction describes ‘Englishness’ as a portable set of imaginative identifications created as much for the diaspora—for the ‘English abroad’—as for the people of a particular geographical and national origin; it thus describes ‘English literature’ as a transnational invention shaped by readers and writers on both sides of the Atlantic. The notion that readers and reading cultures play a significant role in the construction of English literature is a guiding assumption of the volume, and the introduction argues for the importance of analyzing the material archive of readers’ engagement with literature dispersed both temporally and geographically. Finally, the introduction situates the phenomenon of ‘author love’ in the increasingly personalized and affective literary culture that emerged over the course of the nineteenth century, a culture in which books and literary texts were understood both as objects of affection in their own right and as vehicles for affective relations between authors and readers.