The Revolution in Popular Literature: Print, Politics and the People, 1790-1860 (Cambridge Studies in Nineteenth-Century Literature and Culture)

This survey of the evolution of British popular literature during the Romantic and Victorian periods relies on a broad range of archival and primary sources. Arguing that radical politics played a decisive role in the transformation of popular literature, Ian Haywood charts key moments in the history of "cheap" literature. The book accordingly casts new light on many neglected popular genres and texts: the "pig's meat" anthology, the female-authored didactic tale, and Chartist fiction.