Paul Keen. The Crisis of Literature in the 1790s – Print Culture and the Public Sphere

Keen’s impressive study commences with the seemingly straightforward question of what actually constituted “literature” in the 1790s. The answer, however, is anything but simple, as the 299 pages, packed with information, prove to their readers: By no means did “literature” only relate to poetic works in a narrow sense – on the contrary, “literature” comprised texts in any subjects and on any topic, ranging from theology to natural philosophy. In the 1790s, which were revolutionary both throu...