The Utopian Novel in America, 1886–1896: The Politics of Form (Critical Essays in Modern Literature)

By Jean Pfaelzer

Book Overview

In the late 1800s, Americans flocked to cities, immigration, slums, and unemployment burgeoned, and America's role in foreign affairs grew. This period also spawned a number of fictional glimpses into the future. After the publication of Edward Bellamy's Looking Backward in 1888, there was an outpouring of utopian fantasy, many of which promoted socialism, while others presented refined versions of capitalism. Jean Pfaelzer's study traces the impact of the utopian novel and the narrative structures of these sentimental romances. She discusses progressive, pastoral, feminist, and apocalyptic utopias, as well as the genre's parodic counterpart, the dystopia.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0822938111
• ISBN13: 9780822938118
• Release Date: February 1985
• Publisher: University of Pittsburgh Press
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 0.8" x 5.5"