Soft Canons

“[T]he essays in the collection offer thoughtful commentary on gender, race, aesthetics, and economics …Students and scholars of nineteenth-century American literature should find the volume a valuable resource—and a pleasure to read,”—Resources for American Literary Study

“Soft Canons presents a fascinating argument that has broad ramifications for any literary scholar. The collection addresses issues that are bound to reshape how literary critics think of the interplay between male and female authors.”—Sherrie A. Inness

“Carefully edited, 'plotting' our reexamination of the works and authors that the essayists examine, this lively collection establishes the centrality of nineteenth-century literature for scholars of the twenty-first century.”—Susan K. Harris

“Soft Canons incorporates the rich, diverse female literary tradition Kilcup has done so much to recover into a truly integrated critical practice. This wide-ranging collection not only breaks down multiple separate spheres—'feminine' and 'masculine,' black and white, straight and gay, 'aesthetic' and 'political,' American and European—but demonstrates the benefits of comparative study.”—Carolyn L. Karcher

“…a superb comparative study of U.S. women's writings and the 'masculine tradition' within and against which they shaped their literary productions. The collection is notable for its attention to race and gender issues from new and provocative perspectives. Kilcup has brought together a rich array of international scholars whose contributions necessitate nothing less than a rethinking of nineteenth-century American literature as a whole.”—Sharon M. Harris

“ In their innovative treatments of seemingly incomparable works, these critics promote dialogue not only about the texts under consideration but also about the very nature of how we read across lines of gender, race, class, and history. Individually, the essays are insightful and storng; collectively, they highlight the vibrancy of current research on nineteenth -century American women writers in particular and nineteenth-century American literature in general … an ideal critical companion for upper-level undergraduate or graduate courses.”—Annie Merrill Ingram, Symploke