Women, Nationalism, and the Romantic Stage: Theatre and Politics in Britain, 1780-1800 (Cambridge Studies in Romanticism) [Hardcover]

Betsy Bolton (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0521771161 | ISBN-13: 978-0521771160 | Publication Date: April 23, 2001

In the 1780s and 90s, theater critics described the stage as a state in political tumult, while politicians invoked theater as a model for politics both good and bad. In this study, Betsy Bolton examines the ways Romantic women performers and playwrights used theatrical conventions to intervene in politics. This well illustrated study draws on canonical poetry and personal memoirs, popular drama and parliamentary debates, political caricatures and theatrical reviews to extend current understandings of Romantic theater, the public sphere, and Romantic gender relations.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This is, perhaps, Bolton's most significant contribution to our understanding of how theater as an enacted medium...held such power in this period." Nineteenth Century Studies

"Entertaining as well as admirably researched; the readings are illuminating, and Bolton delivers an important reminder of the continuing power of the stage in the Romantic era." ASECS Book Reviews Online

"Women, Nationalism, and the Romantic Stage is to be admired for the originality of its contents and the value of its method..well written and clearly organized...While it offers illuminating readings and careful scholarship to be apreciated for their own ends, it is also a book that invites further thinking about larger issues, including definitions of nationalism and the nature of women's political and literary authority within Romanticism." The Wordsworth Circle

Book Description

In the 1780s and 90s, theatre critics described the stage as a state in political tumult, while politicians invoked theatre as a model for politics both good and bad. In this study, Betsy Bolton examines the ways Romantic women performers and playwrights used theatrical conventions to intervene in politics. This well illustrated study draws on canonical poetry and personal memoirs, popular drama and parliamentary debates, political caricatures and theatrical reviews to extend current understandings of Romantic theatre, the public sphere, and Romantic gender relations.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 290 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (April 23, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521771161
• ISBN-13: 978-0521771160
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,251,415 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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