The Politics of Southern Pastoral Literature, 1785–1885

Beschreibung

In The Politics of Southern Pastoral Literature, 1785–1885: Jeffersonian Afterlives, Peter Templeton presents a wide-ranging and systematic evaluation of pastoral in the nineteenth-century Southern novel, offering an explicit appraisal of the philosophical and political rationale of pastoral literature alongside the existing body of research into the image of Jefferson following his death. Rather than assuming a homogeneous South, Templeton locates Southern pastoral in its specific political context, offering readings of significant factors such as the literary representation of landscape, of class and the yeoman ideal, and the institution of slavery and its intellectual underpinnings. Focusing on a six key Southern authors, both canonical and relatively understudied, the book charts key transformations in the politics of pastoral literature in the period, and noteworthy reconfigurations in the representation of Jefferson and his philosophies, in order to analyze whatthese signified to nineteenth-century Americans. In doing so, the text also demonstrates how ideologies react to the stresses imposed on them by political realities.

In The Politics of Southern Pastoral Literature, 1785–1885: Jeffersonian Afterlives, Peter Templeton presents a wide-ranging and systematic evaluation of pastoral in the nineteenth-century Southern novel, offering an explicit appraisal of the philosophical and political rationale of pastoral literature alongside the existing body of research into the image of Jefferson following his death. Rather than assuming a homogeneous South, Templeton locates Southern pastoral in its specific political context, offering readings of significant factors such as the literary representation of landscape, of class and the yeoman ideal, and the institution of slavery and its intellectual underpinnings. Focusing on a six key Southern authors, both canonical and relatively understudied, the book charts key transformations in the politics of pastoral literature in the period, and noteworthy reconfigurations in the representation of Jefferson and his philosophies, in order to analyze what these signified to nineteenth-century Americans. In doing so, the text also demonstrates how ideologies react to the stresses imposed on them by political realities.

Autor*in

Peter Templeton

Themen in »The Politics of Southern Pastoral Literature, 1785–1885«

Thomas Jefferson pastoral literature Southern novel antebellum reconstruction American Civil War political philosophy American South

Stimmen zu »The Politics of Southern Pastoral Literature, 1785–1885«

“This book provides a rich and detailed look at the lost literature of southern pastoralism. While starting from the image of Thomas Jefferson, Peter Templeton manages to weave close readings of several novels—often little known—into a broader, disturbing cultural history of the U.S. South through the nineteenth century.” (Thomas Hallock, Professor of Literature, University of South Florida, USA)

“This book represents a significant intervention in the study of an undeservedly neglected subject. What Peter Templeton has to say makes a significant contribution to our understanding of a constellation of related subjects, including the politics of Southern pastoral, the literature of the emergent republic, and the powerful influence of Jefferson on early American literature.” (Richard Gray, Emeritus Professor of Literature, Fellow of the British Academy, Leverhulme Emeritus Research Professor, UK)

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