Literature and Party Politics at the Accession of Queen Anne - Oxford English Monographs (Hardback)

Succinct, shrewd ... an exemplary case study of a moment of dynastic instability in denial. an impressive debut by a promising young scholar, whose dogged research has uncovered primary documents never before discussed in modern scholarship, and whose engagement with the existing scholarship is serious and thorough...fresh, original, and persuasive Hone's attention to the political and cultural contexts of the year of Queen Anne's accession pays dividends a subtly revisionist account of literary politics... grounded insistently and illuminatingly, in the political and cultural contexts of the period scrupulously accurate, clearly argued, solidly supported and admirably even-handed well-researched, cogently organized, and lucidly written... essential reading Hone has a keen eye for both detail and constitutional macro-narratives... an impressive monograph a densely argued and meticulously researched study which is in the best sense of the word 'revisionist' packs intellectual punch and erudite insights... a valuable study that deserves to be read widely by historians of all fields Not only does the book succeed in broadening our understanding of the literature and party politics of this underestimated period, it also has wider methodological implications for the field of literary studies more generally, as a renewed testimony to the value of meticulous historicist scholarship... Hone's first monograph establishes him, already, as one of the best critical voices in eighteenth-century scholarship an exemplary case study of a moment of dynastic instability in denial Excellently researched and finely written...makes a thoroughly convincing and informative case that the political moment of Queen Anne was anything but straightforward or inconsequential This short but dense monograph is an impressive debut by a promising young scholar, whose dogged research has uncovered primary documents never before discussed inmodern scholarship, and whose engagement with the existing scholarship is serious and thorough ... Hone has not only argued his case with spirit and tenacity; he has provided other scholars with much new material to ponder. Densely packed with the discussions of writers major and minor, Literature and Party Politics at the Accession of Queen Anne is well researched, cogently organized, and lucidly written. It will make essential reading for anyone interested in the cultural contexts of Anne's accession, and the relation between literature and politics in early eighteenth-century England." Indeed the value of Hone's book depends heavily on its work of historical contextualisation, which overall I find scrupulously accurate, clearly argued, solidly supported, and admirably even-handed. This short but dense monograph is an impressive debut by a promising young scholar, whose dogged research had uncovered primary documents never before discussed in modern scholarship, and whose engagement with the existing scholarship is serious and thorough. It is a measure of Hone's scholarly and critical talents that, while it seems hard to imagine many eighteenth-century readers capable of extracting quite so much significance from all of the texts to which he turns his eye, his interpretive procedures always remain grounded, insistently and illuminatingly, in the political and cultural contexts of the period. By offering such a detailed and informed account of literary and cultural events, he succeeds in demonstrating the potential value both to literary critics and historians of what might reasonably be called 'thick description'. Hone has a keen eye for both detail and constitutional macro-narratives.