New Contexts for Eighteenth-Century British Fiction

'New Contexts for Eighteenth-Century British Fiction' is a collection of thirteen essays honoring Professor Jerry C. Beasley, who retired from the University of Delaware in 2005. The essays, written by friends, collaborators and former students, reflect the scholarly interests that defined Professor Beasley's career and point to new directions of critical inquiry.

New Contexts for Eighteenth-Century British Fiction is a collection of thirteen essays honoring Professor Jerry C. Beasley, who retired from the University of Delaware in 2005. The essays, written by friends, collaborators and former students, reflect the scholarly interests that defined Professor Beasley's career and point to new directions of critical inquiry. The initial essays, which discuss Tobias Smollett, Elizabeth Singer Rowe, and Samuel Richardson, suggest new directions in biographical writing, including the intriguing discourse of 'life writing' explored by Paula Backscheider. Subsequent essays enrich understandings of eighteenth-century fiction by examining lesser-known works by Jane Barker, Eliza Haywood, and Charlotte Lennox. Many of the essays, especially those that focus on Smollett, use political pamphlets, material artifacts, and urban legends to place familiar novels in new contexts. The collection's final essay demonstrates the vital importance of bibliographic study.

1 Introduction
2 The "Super" Jerry C. Beasley
3 Tobias Smollet: The Life of an Author
4 Elizabeth Singer Rowe: Lifestyle as Legacy
5 The Headwaters of Ooziness (Richardson the Polemicist)
6 Cleland's Gospel of "Extasy"
7 Transcultural Adoption in the Eighteenth-Century Transatlantic Novel: Questioning National Identities in Charlotte Lennox'sEuphemia
8 Jane Baker'sExilius: Politics, Women, Narration, and the Public
9 Eliza Haywood'sLove in ExcessI and the Personal Politics of Collectivity
10 A Brief Note on Haywood Scholarship: OrThe Fatal Enquiry into theTimely Discovery andFruitful Enquiry into theFatal Fondness of Contemporary Scholars for Eliza Haywood
11 Revising the Scottish Plot in Tobias Smollet'sRoderick Random
12 Rescuing Narcissa: Montrous Vision, Immagination, and Redemption inRoderick Random
13 Smollett, the Picaresquem and Two Medical Satires
14 The Publication and Revision of Smollet'sContinuation of the Complete History of Englans, 1760-61
15 Appendix: A Descriptive Bibliography with Collation of Varient Readings for the Life-Time Editions of Smollet's Continuation
16 Select Bibliography of Works by Jerry C. Beasley
17 Contributors
18 Index