Overview

Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832) was once a household name, but is now largely forgotten. This book explores how Scott's work became an all-pervasive point of reference for cultural memory and collective identity in the nineteenth century, and why it no longer has this role. Ann Rigney breaks new ground in memory studies and the study of literary reception by examining the dynamics of cultural memory and the 'social life' of literary texts across several generations and multiple media. She pays attention to the remediation of the Waverley novels as they travelled into painting, the theatre, and material culture, as well as to the role of 'Scott' as a memory site in the public sphere for a century after his death. Using a wide range of examples and supported by many illustrations, Rigney demonstrates how remembering Scott's work helped shape national and transnational identities up to World War I, and contributed to the emergence of the idea of an English-speaking world encompassing Scotland, the British Empire, and the United States. Scott's work forged a potent alliance between memory, literature, and identity that was eminently suited to modernization. His legacy continues in the widespread belief that engaging with the past is a condition for transcending it.

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9780198806400

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Reviews

[This book shows] that scholarly interest in Scottish literature of this period is both alive and of a very high standard, illustrated by the quality of the writing itself, by the careful, extensive and well-documented notes, and the comprehensive bibliographies. Andrew Monnickendam, European Romantic Review Rigney's lucid, intelligent, well-researched book deserves the widest possible audience not only for what it tells us about the fate of Scott's fictions and influence, but also for what it teaches us about the intricate dance of cultural remembering and forgetting. Evan Gottlich, Journal of British Studies Rigney's book is full of complex concepts, sharp phrases and original approaches. Murray Pittock, Scottish Literary Review a highly original contribution ... Rigneyas work may prove procreative like Scottas, fertile in inspiring future works. Jeffrey E. Jackson, Dickens Quarterly a valuable extension of recent scholarship on the role of Scott's fiction in the development of the nation state and modernity David Buchanen, Journal of Victorian Culture Rigney explores the cultural importance and excitement generated by [Scott's] work ... At its heart this book is a study of memory and forgetting. D.A. Henningfeld, Choice As its title promises, this book advances the fields of literary reception, cultural memory, and poetic afterlife. Rarely have I so enjoyed a work of scholarship. Much of the book's appeal comes from its cogent analysis of surprising materials ... With erudition and extensive research ... it offers tools for analyzing the long-term reception of many books and authors. Paul Westover, Review 19 [a] thoughtful and thought-provoking book ... most useful for those reading her book are the instruments she uses - and how one can borrow and make use of them oneself. Particularly eye-opening (for me, at least) is the wholly persuasive last chapter ( How Long was Immortality? ) and her argument that by historicizing the present - where we are - Scott opened the way for modernism and set up the constantly renovating processes ( make it new , as Pound instructed) which ensured his (Scott's) own inevitable eclipse. Scott's genius was to dig his own grave - but, mysteriously and manifestly, as Rigney shows, live on John Sutherland, Times Literary Supplement Richly illustrated ... Rigney breaks new ground in memory studies and the study of literary reception Scottish Studies Newsletter This is an outstanding book which deftly shows the limitations of insistent disciplinary overreliance on text at the expense of considering its mediations. ... Rigney's book is full of complex concepts, sharp phrases and original approaches. Caroline McCracken-Flesher, Scottish Literary Review

Author Information

Ann Rigney was born in Dublin, educated at University College Dublin and the University of Toronto, and is currently professor of Comparative Literature at Utrecht University. She was elected a member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Sciences in 2005. She has published widely in the field of cultural memory, philosophy of history, and nineteenth-century historiography. Her books include The Rhetoric of Historical Representation: Three Narrative Histories of the French Revolution (Cambridge UP, 1990) and Imperfect Histories: The Elusive Past and the Legacy of Romantic Historicism (Cornell UP, 2011).

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