By Nature and by Custom Cursed: Transatlantic Civil Discourse and New England Cultural Production, 1620-1660 (Civil Society: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives) [Paperback]

Phillip H. Round (Author)

Book Description

Series: Civil Society: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives | Publication Date: May 1, 1999

A major reexamination of New England's cultural society, in which Puritans share the stage with many other discourses.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Philip Round joins the growing number of literary scholars who, following the lead of historians, have shifted their focus away from local tradition to the transatlantic arena . . . With By Nature and By Custom Cursed, the paradigm shift in colonial literary studies takes a significant advance, and anyone who wants to arrive at a fully transatlantic understanding of colonial culture will need to reckon with Round's book." --William and Mary Quarterly

From the Publisher

6 x 9 trim. LC 98-50672

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Product Details

• Paperback: 335 pages
• Publisher: Tufts; 1st edition (May 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0874519292
• ISBN-13: 978-0874519297
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,775,591 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Compelling and Engagingly Written, July 6, 2000

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GM Rieker - See all my reviews

This review is from: By Nature and by Custom Cursed: Transatlantic Civil Discourse and New England Cultural Production, 1620-1660 (Civil Society: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives) (Paperback)

Pulling from many different disciplines and media (town records, letters, published literature, etc.), Phil Round examines the many different discourses that were swirling around New England when our American mindset started to coalesce. He finds that Puritanism, while a large part of our heritage, was not the only way of thinking present in the 17th century--we were much more varied and secular than is genererally represented in history.

Phil Round is an exceptional lecturer--funny and engaging as well as critically sound. His book very much mirrors his fine lectures.

Highly recommended. Would pair nicely with Philip Fisher's Still the New World for an American lit and culture syllabus.