Anthem Press The Voice of the People: Writing the European Folk Revival, 1760–1914 (Anthem European Studies)

‘The Voice of the People’ presents a series of essays on literary aspects of the European folk revival of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and focuses on two key practices of antiquarianism: the role that collecting and editing played in the formation of ethnological study in the European academy; and the business of publishing and editing, which produced many ‘folkloric’ texts of dubious authenticity. The volume also presents new readings of various genres, including the epic, song, tale and novel, and contributes to the study of several crucial European literary figures. Above all, it investigates the great anonymous authors of the European folk tradition – in narrative and lyric art – and their relation to the cultural movements and imagined identities of the peoples of the emerging nineteenth-century European nation. Review ‘[A] fine collection of essays covering a large scope of time and geography. […] Not least among the virtues of this collection is that it makes one think and ask questions.’ —Arnd Bohn, ‘Monatshefte’  Review ‘A masterly chronological line-up of scholarship from many lands, this book releases the European folk revival from its many confining nationalisms, making the folk/literary movements of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries individually and collectively legible for a new generation of scholars.’ —Professor Angela Bourke, MRIA, University College Dublin ‘An ambitious and timely publication, which will be of great interest to both historians and literary critics. The book’s wide-ranging case studies cumulatively reaffirm the central role of “folk” and “popular” culture in the making of modern European literary sensibilities.’ —Dr Philip Connell, University of Cambridge ‘This sparkling collection of essays reveals in intricate detail a cat’s cradle of regional, national, and international relations within the folklore revival. Marvellously ambitious and wide-ranging, it is sure to stimulate fresh research into the European contexts of folksong. It is impossible not to learn something from this rich and compelling work.’ —Professor Nick Groom, University of Exeter ‘From the Scottish Highlands of Ossian to the nymph-like vilas of First World War Bosnia, this collection reveals how interconnected the proponents of the European folk revival were. Each chapter, whether dealing with well-known figures like Robert Burns and Heinrich Heine, or more exotic fare such as Portuguese romanticism and the Estonian national epic, demonstrates the dynamic impact of demotic culture on literature and the arts in the long nineteenth century. Given the social and political significance of “The People” in an age of revolutions, this collection will be as useful to historians as it is to literary scholars.’ —Dr David Hopkin, University of Oxford ‘Interest in vernacular culture flourished all over Europe in the nineteenth century. Just how trans-national this interest was, despite its national(ist) application in the various European countries, is made clear by this assembly of case studies. Each essay in this collection, instructive in its own right, is enriched by the others, and by the comparative context. A landmark book in folklore studies and in intellectual history.’ —Professor J. T. Leerssen, University of Amsterdam Book Description A series of essays on literary aspects of the pan-European folk revival from the late eighteenth century to the beginning of the twentieth. About the Author Matthew Campbell is Professor of English at the University of York. Michael Perraudin is Professor of German at the University of Sheffield.