{"product_id":"9781441162168","title":"Must Read: Rediscovering American Bestsellers : From Charlotte Temple to The Da Vinci Code","description":"\u003cstrong\u003eMust Read: Rediscovering American Bestsellers\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhat is it about certain books that makes them bestsellers? Why do some of these books remain popular for centuries, and others fade gently into obscurity? And why is it that when scholars do turn their attention to bestsellers, they seem only to be interested in the same handful of blockbusters, when so many books that were once immensely popular remain under-examined?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAddressing those and other equally pressing questions about popular literature, Must Read is the first scholarly collection to offer both a survey of the evolution of American bestsellers as well as critical readings of some of the key texts that have shaped the American imagination since the nation's founding.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFocusing on a mix of enduring and forgotten bestsellers, the essays in this collection consider 18th and 19th century works, like Charlotte Temple or Ben-Hur, that were once considered epochal but are now virtually ignored; 20th century favorites such as The Sheik and Peyton Place; and 21st century blockbusters including the novels of Nicholas Sparks, The Kite Runner, and The Da Vinci Code.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eReview(s):\u003cbr\u003e“The volume is particularly strong in its trans-Atlantic, global focus for all historical periods it covers. It is uniformly sophisticated in its attention to gender and sexuality, race, religion, and national identity, but also written in terms easily accessible to undergraduates...\u003ci\u003eMust Read\u003c\/i\u003e succeeds both in its parts and as a whole. The essays are generally of high quality, but Churchwell and Smith have also created an unusual degree of unity and coherence among the essays. \u003ci\u003eMust Read\u003c\/i\u003e's thorough, clear introduction and careful selection and framing make it feel more like a monograph. Together, these essays make a coherent argument about popular literature as a site of struggle over meaning across history, a space where controversies over religion, race, nation, gender\/sexuality, social and cultural value are negotiated.” —\u003ci\u003eErin A. Smith, American Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eISBN:  9781441162168\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e ","brand":"Continuum","offers":[{"title":"Paperback \/ softback","offer_id":40603562016974,"sku":"9781441162168","price":42.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/pickwickbookshop.com\/products\/9781441162168","provider":"Pickwick Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}