Novel Minds Philosophers and Romance Readers, 1680-1740 [Hardcover]

Eighteenth-century philosophy owes much to the early novel. Using the figure of the romance reader this book tells a new story of eighteenth-century reading. The impressionable mind and mutable identity of the romance reader haunt eighteenth-century definitions of the self, and the seductions of fiction insist on making an appearance in philosophy.Acknowledgements Introduction: From Passions to Language: The Transformation of the Imagination Locke: Metaphorical Romances Behn: Romance from the Stage to the Letter Shaftesbury: Conversation and the Psychology of Romance Hume: Reading Romances, Writing the Self Richardson: How to Read Romance Notes Bibliography Index

'Novel Minds delivers a nuanced understanding of the instabilities and uncertainties of the consciousness shaped by reading imagined in eighteenth-century philosophy and narrative prose. In a lively and engaging style, Tierney-Hynes brings the writings of significant writers into interesting conversation with each other.' - Ros Ballaster, Professor of 18th Century Studies, University of Oxford, UK

REBECCA TIERNEY-HYNES is an Assistant Professor in the Department of English Language and Literature at the University of Waterloo, Canada. She has published essays in Eighteenth-Century Studies, SEL, and The Eighteenth Century: Theory and Interpretation.