Manchester University Press Marilynne Robinson (Contemporary American and Canadian Writers)

Best known for a trilogy of historical novels set in the fictional town of Gilead, Iowa, Marilynne Robinson is a prolific writer, teacher, and public speaker, who has won the Pulitzer Prize and was awarded the National Humanities Medal by Barack Obama. This collection intervenes in Robinson's growing critical reputation, pointing to new and exciting links between the author, the historical settings of her novels, and the contemporary themes of her fictional, educational, and theoretical work. Introduced by a critical discussion from Professors Bridget Bennett, Sarah Churchwell, and Richard King, Marilynne Robinson features analysis from a range of international academics, and explores debates in race, gender, environment, critical theory, and more, to suggest new and innovative readings of her work. From the Back Cover Best known for a trilogy of historical novels set in the fictional town of Gilead, Iowa, Marilynne Robinson is a prolific essayist, teacher, and public speaker, routinely celebrated as a singular author of American fiction. This collection intervenes in the author's growing critical reputation, pointing to new and exciting links between the author, the historical settings of her novels, and the contemporary themes of her fictional, educational, and theoretical work. Touching on ongoing debates in race, gender, and environmental politics, as well as education, democracy, and the state of critical theory, Marilynne Robinson demonstrates the wider secular and popular impact of the author's work, building on the largely theological focus of previous criticism to suggest new and innovative interpretations of her growing oeuvre. The collection's four sections are dedicated to Robinson's use of form and style; her exploration of the relationship between gender and the environment; her use of history and the intersection of race, rights, and religion in her work; and linking Robinson to her contemporaries. As such, the collection argues for a reconsideration of Robinson within the field of American Studies, focusing on her invocation of the past in the present. Authors include: Bridget Bennett, Richard King, Sarah Churchwell, Jack Baker, Maria Elena Carpintero Torres-Quevedo, Daniel King, Anna Maguire Elliott, Makayla Steiner, Lucy Clarke, Christopher Lloyd, Tessa Roynon, Alexander Engebretson, Emily Hammerton-Barry, Steve Gronert Ellerhoff and Kathryn E. Engebretson, Paul Jenner and Jennifer Daly. About the Author Rachel Sykes is Senior Lecturer in Contemporary American Literature at the University of Birmingham. Jennifer Daly is an independent researcher and Research Strategy Officer at Trinity College Dublin. Anna Maguire Elliott is Senior Research Administrator at the University of Portsmouth.