Humor in Eighteenth-and Nineteenth-Century British Literature: A Reference Guide

(Hardback)

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During the 18th and 19th centuries in Britain there was a wide range of literary humour. Much of this humour was satiric, ranging from the sharp barbs of Pope and Swift to the more subtle but stinging wordplay of Addison. In the 18th century, Richardson, Fielding, Smollett and Sterne wrote humorous novels, in which they satirized society. During the 19th century, writers such as Dickens, Thackeray, Eliot and Carlyle continued to use humour to comment on the issues of their day. This reference book examines how British writers of the 18th and 19th centuries used humour in their works. An introductory chapter overviews humour in British literature of the era, and sections then treat humour in British literature of the 18th century and in three periods of the 19th century. Each of these sections includes a short introduction, followed by chronologically arranged profiles of various authors. Each profile discusses how the author used humour and includes extensive bibliographic information.

Reviews

"Like the volumes which preceded it, this book is an invaluable aid for those interested in the study of humor and British literature....For individual students, scholars, reference librarians, and laypersons alike who want a quick introduction to the subject of British literary humor during the periods covered or who are looking for information on specific writers, , this volume is an extremely useful tool...[T]he book is a comprehensive and easy-to-use source which will lead the reader to more specialized and narrowly focused studies. Don Nilsen's Humor in Eighteenth- and Nineteenth Century British Literature: A Reference Guide continues the author's invaluable service to humor studies and will be a significant addition to the holdings of both libraries and individual collectors."-Humor- International Journal of Humor Research
Like the volumes which preceded it, this book is an invaluable aid for those interested in the study of humor and British literature....For individual students, scholars, reference librarians, and laypersons alike who want a quick introduction to the subject of British literary humor during the periods covered or who are looking for information on specific writers, , this volume is an extremely useful tool...[T]he book is a comprehensive and easy-to-use source which will lead the reader to more specialized and narrowly focused studies. Don Nilsen's Humor in Eighteenth- and Nineteenth Century British Literature: A Reference Guide continues the author's invaluable service to humor studies and will be a significant addition to the holdings of both libraries and individual collectors.-Humor- International Journal of Humor Research

Author Bio

DON L.F. NILSEN is Professor of English at Arizona State University and Executive Secretary of the International Society for Humor Studies. He is an officer of various humor societies and actively contributes to a number of publications. His previous books include Humor in Irish Literature: A Reference Guide (1995) and Humor in British Literature, From the Middle Ages to the Restoration: A Reference Guide (1997), both available from Greenwood Press.