Dominion and Agency
Author | : Eli MacLaren |
Publisher | : University of Toronto Press |
Total Pages | : 341 |
Release | : 2011-10-08 |
ISBN-10 | : 9781442695672 |
ISBN-13 | : 1442695676 |
Rating | : 4/5 (72 Downloads) |
Download or read book Dominion and Agency written by Eli MacLaren and published by University of Toronto Press. This book was released on 2011-10-08 with total page 341 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The 1867 Canadian confederation brought with it expectations of a national literature, which a rising class of local printers hoped to supply. Reforming copyright law in the imperial context proved impossible, and Canada became a prime market for foreign publishers instead. The subsequent development of the agency system of exclusive publisher-importers became a defining feature of Canadian trade publishing for most of the twentieth century. In Dominion and Agency, Eli MacLaren analyses the struggle for copyright reform and the creation of a national literature using previously ignored archival sources such as the Board of Trade Papers at the National Archives of the United Kingdom. A groundbreaking study, Dominion and Agency is an important exploration of the legal and economic structures that were instrumental in the formation of today's Canadian literary culture.