1st Edition
Romancing the Self in Early Modern Englishwomen's Life Writing
By Julie A. Eckerle
Copyright 2013
230 Pages
by
Routledge
230 Pages
by
Routledge
230 Pages
by
Routledge
Also available as eBook on:
Juxtaposing life writing and romance, this study offers the first book-length exploration of the dynamic and complex relationship between the two genres. In so doing, it operates at the intersection of several recent trends: interest in women's contributions to autobiography; greater awareness of the diversity and flexibility of auto/biographical forms in the early modern period; and the use of... Read more
Contents: Introduction: life writing through the lens of romance; Women’s literacy practices and the mechanics of reading romance; The woman’s autobiographical voice in early modern romance; Becoming the heroine; The specter of romance; Romancing the self in autobiographical romance; Bibliography; Index.
Biography
Julie A. Eckerle is Associate Professor of English at the University of Minnesota, Morris, USA.
'Bringing together two strands of scholarship-romance and life-writing, Julie Eckerle provides deep and sometimes unexpected insights into each. This study represents a highly significant contribution to the field that will be much-cited in future criticism.' Mary Ellen Lamb, Southern Illinois University, USA 'Eckerle's most innovative contribution to women's literary history, and the heart of her book, is the detailed analysis of the life writing texts themselves ... The interweaving of primary sources from across the centuries ... creates suggestive juxtapositions and establishes the significance of romance narratives for women as readers and writers. At the same time, it offers a welcome reminder of the potential of life writing to complicate and enrich our histories of reading.' SHARP News '... illuminating new book ... our understanding of the historical complexity of selfnarrative is enriched by this fascinating study.' Renaissance Quarterly
