Jonathan Swift and Popular Culture Myth, Media and the Man: Myth, Media, and the Man

By Ann Cline Kelly

Book Overview

Ann Kelly's provocative book breaks the mold of Swift studies. Twentieth century Swift scholars have tended to assess Jonathan Swift as a pillar of the eighteenth-century 'republic of letter', a conservative, even reactionary voice upholding classical values against the welling tide of popularization in literature. Kelly looks at Swift instead as a practical exponent of the popular and impressario of the literary image. She argues that Swift turned his back on the elite to write for a popular audience, and that he annexed scandals to his fictionalized print alter ego, creating a continual demand for works by or about this self-mythologized figure. A fascinating look at print culture, the commodification of the author, and the history of popular culture, this book should provoke lots of discussion.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0230602347
• ISBN13: 9780230602342
• Release Date: July 2008
• Publisher: Palgrave MacMillan
• Length: 244 Pages
• Weight: 0.73 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.5" x 8.5"