Eighteenth-Century Characters

Download or read book Eighteenth-Century Characters written by Elaine M. McGirr and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2007-01-24 with total page 323 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Eighteenth-Century Characters offers a concise introduction to the eighteenth century, using characters as its starting point. Elaine M. McGirr presents contextualized readings of stock characters from canonical and popular literature, such as: - The rake and the fop - The country gentleman - The good woman - The coquette and the prude - The country maid and the town lady - The Catholic, the Protestant and the British Other. Each chapter explores how a character's significance and role changes over the century, illustrating and explaining radical shifts in taste, ideology and style. Also featuring illustrations, a Chronology and a helpful Bibliography and Further Reading section, this essential guide will provide students with the necessary background to understand the period's literature and to embark on further study.