British literary culture and publishing practice, 1880-1914

This book is about the radical transformation of British literary culture during the period 1880 to 1914 as seen through the early publishing careers of three highly influential writers, Joseph Conrad, Arnold Bennett and Arthur Conan Doyle. Peter D. McDonald examines the cultural politics of the period by considering the social structure of the literary world in which these writers were read and understood. Through a wealth of historical detail, he links the publishing history of key texts with the wider commercial, ideological and literary themes in the period as a whole. By tracing the complex network of relationships among writers, publishers, printers, distributors, reviewers and readers, McDonald demonstrates that the discursive qualities of these texts cannot be fully appreciated without understanding the material conditions of their production.

In so doing, he makes social history a central part of literary studies, and shows the importance of the history of publishing in questions of critical interpretation.