This book examines literary representations of hyperlocal spaces that subvert the idea of grounded and organic spatial identities. Figures such as the pond, the scientific particle, and Wedgwood creamware often go unnoticed, but they exemplify important shifts in culture and aesthetics in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.The Hyperlocal in Eighteenth- and Nineteenth-Century Literary Space argues that these objects, as well as locations such as alcoves in remote shires, city inns, and mountain retreats, were portrayed by writers in the late eighteenth and early-to-mid nineteenth centuries as gambits that challenged cultural hegemonies. It shows that the hyperlocal space or object, though particular, reaches beyond itself, affording an elasticity that can allow those things that seem beneath notice to reveal broader cultural significance.

Nicholas Birns teaches literature at the School of Professional Studies, New York University.

List of Figures

Chapter One. Introducing the Hyperlocal

Chapter Two. Societies Royal and Representative: The Scientific Hyperlocal

Chapter Three. The Pond: Emblem of the Hyperlocal

Chapter Four. Negative Adjacency: The Aesthetic Hyperlocal

Chapter Five. To Earth Come Down: The Methodist Hyperlocal

Chapter Six. The Pit and Boxes: The Theatrical Hyperlocal

Chapter Seven. A Glass Reversed: The Epidemiological Hyperlocal

Chapter Eight. Lakes, Shores, and Mountain Crags: The Romantic Hyperlocal

Chapter Nine. Ravens in Shy Neighborhoods: The Convivial Hyperlocal

Chapter Ten. From Monadnock to Jungheera: The Transcendental Hyperlocal

Conclusion: The Hyperlocal and Modernity



Bibliography

Index

About the Author