Edinburgh University Press Contested Liberalisms: Martineau, Dickens and the Victorian Press (Edinburgh Critical Studies in Victorian Culture)

Focusing on the importance of Martineau's contribution to the development of the early Victorian press, this book highlights the degree to which the public quarrel between her and Dickens in the mid-1850s represented larger fissures within nineteenth-century liberalism. It places Martineau and Dickens within the context of Anglo-American liberalism and demonstrates how these fissures were embedded within a transatlantic conversation over the role of the press in forming a public sphere essential to the development of a liberal society. From the Inside Flap Reframes the long-standing critical narrative of the relationship between Harriet Martineau and Charles Dickens to explore the transatlantic development of the early Victorian pressFocusing on the importance of Martineaus contribution to the development of the early Victorian press, this book highlights the degree to which the public quarrel between her and Dickens in the mid-1850s represented larger fissures within nineteenth-century liberalism. It places Martineau and Dickens within the context of Anglo-American liberalism and demonstrates how these fissures were embedded within a transatlantic conversation over the role of the press in forming a public sphere essential to the development of a liberal society. Iain Crawford is Associate Professor of English and Faculty Director of the Undergraduate Research Programme at the University of Delaware. From the Back Cover Reframes the long-standing critical narrative of the relationship between Harriet Martineau and Charles Dickens to explore the transatlantic development of the early Victorian press Focusing on the importance of Martineau's contribution to the development of the early Victorian press, this book highlights the degree to which the public quarrel between her and Dickens in the mid-1850s represented larger fissures within nineteenth-century liberalism. It places Martineau and Dickens within the context of Anglo-American liberalism and demonstrates how these fissures were embedded within a transatlantic conversation over the role of the press in forming a public sphere essential to the development of a liberal society. Iain Crawford is Associate Professor of English and Faculty Director of the Undergraduate Research Programme at the University of Delaware. About the Author Iain Crawford is Associate Professor of English at the University of Delaware.