The Oxford History of the Irish Book, Volume IV The Irish Book in English, 1800-1891

by Murphy, James H.

• ISBN13: 9780191803277
• ISBN10: 0191803278
• Format: eBook
• Copyright: 2011-11-07
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
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Summary

The Oxford History of the Irish Book is a major new series that charts one of the most venerable book cultures in Europe, from the earliest manuscript compilations to the flourishing book industries of the late twentieth century. For the first time, it offers a history of the Irish book as a created object situated in a world of communications, trade, transport, power, and money, and examines the ways in which books have both reflected and influenced social, political, and intellectual formations in Ireland. It is an important project for the understanding of Ireland's written and printed heritage, and is by its nature of profound cross-cultural significance, embracing as it does all the written and printed traditions and heritages of Ireland and placing them in the global context of a worldwide interest in book histories.

Volume III: The Irish Book in English 1800-1890 details the story of the book in Ireland from the Act of Union, which ended Ireland's lucrative exemption from British copyright, to the Irish revival, with its emphasis on cultural nationalism. Though retaining its own identity during this period the Irish publishing industry also participated in a wider British publishing culture, less perhaps the result of political change than the result of the industrialization of production. The chapters in this volume deal with book production and distribution and the differing of ways in which publishing existed in Dublin, Belfast, and the provinces. The nineteenth century saw a dramatic rise in literacy rates in Ireland, the advent of national education, and the development of new opportunities and spaces for reading that eclipsed previous communal reading practices. Religious publishing was a major enterprise not only because of the rise in devotionalism but also because of the religious controversies that raged in the early part of the century. Literary genres engaged both Irish and British audiences with Irish issues, though they found a publishing outlet largely through London publishers. Scholarly societies of both the antiquarian and scientific varieties sustained a relatively high degree of local publishing, mostly through journals. Medical and musical publishing appeared for quite a while to defy the centralizing pull of British publishing. In spite of the challenges of the times, writers, publishers, readers, and institutions often responded with energy and creativity to a world of extraordinary change. It was a world of considerable diversity and great fascination. Relying on a high degree of original research, both archival and bibliographical, this volume treats both general trends and individual stories.

Author Biography

James H. Murphy, Ph.D., D.Litt., F.R.Hist,S., is Professor of English and was also for a time Director of Irish Studies at DePaul University, Chicago, having previously taught in Ireland. He specialises in nineteenth-century Ireland, focusing particularly on the history of the novel and on the political history of the period. He is the author or (co-) editor of ten previous books, including (as author) Abject Loyalty: Nationalism and Monarchy in Ireland, during the Reign of Queen Victoria, Ireland, a Social, Cultural and Literary History, 1791-1891, and Catholic Fiction and Social Reality in Ireland, 1873-1922. His study, Irish Novelists and the Victorian Age, will be published by OUP in 2011. He has twice been president of the Society for the Study of Nineteenth-Century Ireland.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations
List of Abbreviations
Notes on Contributors
1. Introduction, James H. Murphy
I Book Production and Publishing
2. The Industrialization of Irish Book Production, 1790-1900, Frank Ferguson
3. The Dublin Book Trade, Charles Benson
4. Provincial Publishing, Maura Cronin
5. Belfast Publishing, Roger Dixon
6. Limerick Publishing, Maura Cronin
7. Workers in Printing and Bookbinding, Charles Benson
8. Irish-American Publishing, Martin J. Burke
II The Diversity of Publishers
9. James Duffy and Catholic Nationalism, Rolf Loeber and Magda Stouthamer-Loeber
10. The Webb Family and Quaker Printing, Jennifer Regan-Lefebvre
11. Marcus Ward & Co. of Belfast, Gillian McIntosh
III Pamphlets and Periodicals
12. Pamphlets, Charles Benson and Siobhan Fitzpatrick
13. Periodicals, Elizabeth Tilley
IV Book Distribution and Reading
14. Oral Culture, Literacy, and Reading, 1800-1850, Niall O Ciosain
15. Pedlars and Book Distribution, Niall O Ciosain
16. Almanacs, Niall O Ciosain
17. Women Readers in Limerick, 1830-40, Sarah McNamara
18. Popular Reading Practice, Rolf Loeber and Magda Stouthamer-Loeber
V Libraries and Reading
19. Libraries, Marie-Louise Legg
20. The Nation Reading Rooms, Roisin Higgins
21. Reading Spaces in Dublin, Clara Cullen
22. Institutional Libraries and Private Collections, Gerard Long
23. Irish-American Book Collections, Martin J. Burke
VI Devotion and Division in Religious Publishing
24. Varieties of Religious Publishing, 1800-1850, Heidi Hansson
25. Selina Bunbury, Religion and the Woman Writer, Heidi Hansson
26. Catholic Devotional Literature in Dublin, 1800-30, Cormac Begadon
27. Religion and Illustrated Periodicals in the 1830s, Robin J. Kavanagh
28. The Religious Tract Society, Aileen Fyfe
29. The Ulster Revival, 1859, Heidi Hansson
30. Catholic Religious Publishing, 1800-90, Cormac Begadon
31. Women Readers and Catholic Magazines, Una Ni Bhroimeil
VII Literature and Literary Careers
32. Travel Writing, Eadaoin Agnew
33. The National Tale, 1800-1830, Claire Connolly
34. Novelists, Publishers and Readers, 1830-90, James H. Murphy
35. Ulster-Scots Literature, Frank Ferguson
36. James Clarence Mangan, Jacques Chuto
37. Samuel Ferguson's Hibernian Nights' Entertainments, Eve Patten
38. The Anthology and the Duanaire, Margaret Kelleher
VIII Publishing the Past
39. The Royal Irish Academy and Antiquarianism, Elizabeth Tilley
40. John O'Donovan's Edition of The Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland by the Four Masters, Dermot McGuinne
41. Margaret Cusack and Catholic-Nationalist History, Patrick Maume
IX Educating the Child
42. The National Curriculum, John Logan
43. Children's Literature, Padraic Whyte
X Disseminating Science
44. Science, Enda Leaney
45. The Industrial Resources of Ireland by Robert Kane, Juliana Adelman
46. Ordnance Survey Maps and Official Reports, Patrick J. Duffy
47. The Journal of the Statistical and Social Inquiry Society of Ireland, K.J. Rankin
48. Medicine, Elizabeth Lake
XI Publishing and Performance
49. Theatre, Chris Morash
50. Music, Maria McHale
51. Popular Songs, John Moulden
Bibliography
Index