Books, Readers and Libraries in Fiction (Paperback)

Paperback. It is easy to find books and libraries within fiction from the earliest times onwards in works for all age groups, in canonical literature and in books that form part of popular culture. From Don Quixote to Louisa M. Alcotts March girls and Terry Pratchetts Unseen University wizards, the reading material of fictional personae is part of their characterisation; we are often reading readers. This volume breaks new ground in offering a chronological range of essays exploring the depiction of books, libraries and reading specifically in fiction from the medieval period to the present. Through detailed case studies from primarily British fiction that address common themes such as gender, genre and the relation between reading and writing itself, the collection examines the ways in which authors of fiction mediate and interpret books, libraries, and the act of reading to their own readers. Fiction enables writers to teach readers how to read, but it can also portray subversive acts of reading that engage with contemporary cultural anxieties or moral debates. The volume draws on approaches from literary studies, book history, library history, and theories and histories of reading, to examine what fictional representations of reading tell us about changing cultural attitudes to different reading practices, and the use (and abuse) of books beyond actual reading, both in the context of specific works and about the reception of books more widely. This volume explores the depiction of books, libraries and reading in fiction from the medieval period to the present. Its varied case studies address common themes such as gender, genre and the relation between reading and writing itself and examine what fictional representations of reading tell us about changing cultural attitudes to different reading practices. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.…