Literary History Writing, 1770-1820

Cover......Page 1
Contents......Page 8
Acknowledgments......Page 10
Introduction......Page 12
Section I: Writing and Rewriting Lives......Page 20
Addison and the history of literary criticism......Page 24
Ordering "Lives" after Johnson......Page 27
Literary history and opinion......Page 35
2 Rewriting Lives: Revolution, Reaction, and Apostasy......Page 38
Before and after the Revolution......Page 39
Literary history and the politics of rationalization......Page 43
Godwin's Lives of Edward and John Philips......Page 48
Section II: Literary History and Books......Page 58
The "rational antiquary"......Page 60
Antiquarianism and Warton's History of English Poetry......Page 65
4 Literary History and Literary Specimens......Page 70
George Ellis and the "opinions and prejudices of mankind"......Page 71
Southey's "sneering at the reader" in a history of modern taste......Page 77
Thomas Campbell and the "national mind"......Page 83
Section III: Isaac D'Israeli and Literary History......Page 92
"What often is not in history": conservative iconoclasm and writing from outside......Page 96
"The historian of the human mind"......Page 100
Opinion, secret history, and anecdote......Page 108
Literary history and An Enquiry into the Literary and Political Character of James the First......Page 115
Section IV: The Genres of Literary History......Page 122
"Our Ancient Literature"......Page 124
History, biography, and the "mind of the community"......Page 126
Writing literary histories of "domestic and civil life"......Page 129
Literary histories in and of the novel......Page 135
The hypercritical tribe......Page 145
John Corry's View of London......Page 149
The Cockneys and the Lakers......Page 154
Institutional lectures and literary history......Page 159
Conclusion......Page 168
Notes......Page 172
Bibliography......Page 212
Index......Page 230