Wales, the West Country, and the Midlands in female-authored novels, 1810-1820
This thesis focuses on the use of regional spaces in a corpus of forty-four female-authored novels set in Wales, the West Country, and the Midlands, published between 1810 and 1820. By so doing, it aims to address a gap in current scholarship on Romantic regionalism. It argues that these case study...
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| Format: | Thesis (University of Nottingham only) |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2023
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| Online Access: | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/73057/ |
| _version_ | 1848800761621774336 |
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| author | Hawley-Sibbett, Ruby Ellen |
| author_facet | Hawley-Sibbett, Ruby Ellen |
| author_sort | Hawley-Sibbett, Ruby Ellen |
| building | Nottingham Research Data Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | This thesis focuses on the use of regional spaces in a corpus of forty-four female-authored novels set in Wales, the West Country, and the Midlands, published between 1810 and 1820. By so doing, it aims to address a gap in current scholarship on Romantic regionalism. It argues that these case study regions form a coherent grouping within the wider phenomenon of the English and Welsh regional novel, due to their contiguity, their many similarities, and their shared differences from other spaces. This study focuses on the 1810s as a significant point in the development of the regional novel genre. It considers trends which correlate with formal regional boundaries, as well as transregional themes, particularly remoteness and retirement.
This thesis argues that there is a certain amount of regional distinctiveness in the representation of each of its case study regions. However, it also explores how this distinctiveness coexisted with prevalent stereotypical images associated with a generic rural ideal, which is often nationalistic and conservative. It considers women writers’ approach to the relationship between literary space and female freedom, arguing that the corpus of novels which it discusses presents an overwhelmingly conservative vision of gender politics; it also highlights exceptional images of alternative gender performance, which primarily appear in Wales. This study aims to situate Jane Austen’s use of regional settings in the context of her publishing contemporaries, drawing attention to those who represent these spaces in distinctive ways, particularly Catherine Hutton. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T20:56:42Z |
| format | Thesis (University of Nottingham only) |
| id | nottingham-73057 |
| institution | University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus |
| institution_category | Local University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T20:56:42Z |
| publishDate | 2023 |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | nottingham-730572023-07-20T04:40:12Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/73057/ Wales, the West Country, and the Midlands in female-authored novels, 1810-1820 Hawley-Sibbett, Ruby Ellen This thesis focuses on the use of regional spaces in a corpus of forty-four female-authored novels set in Wales, the West Country, and the Midlands, published between 1810 and 1820. By so doing, it aims to address a gap in current scholarship on Romantic regionalism. It argues that these case study regions form a coherent grouping within the wider phenomenon of the English and Welsh regional novel, due to their contiguity, their many similarities, and their shared differences from other spaces. This study focuses on the 1810s as a significant point in the development of the regional novel genre. It considers trends which correlate with formal regional boundaries, as well as transregional themes, particularly remoteness and retirement. This thesis argues that there is a certain amount of regional distinctiveness in the representation of each of its case study regions. However, it also explores how this distinctiveness coexisted with prevalent stereotypical images associated with a generic rural ideal, which is often nationalistic and conservative. It considers women writers’ approach to the relationship between literary space and female freedom, arguing that the corpus of novels which it discusses presents an overwhelmingly conservative vision of gender politics; it also highlights exceptional images of alternative gender performance, which primarily appear in Wales. This study aims to situate Jane Austen’s use of regional settings in the context of her publishing contemporaries, drawing attention to those who represent these spaces in distinctive ways, particularly Catherine Hutton. 2023-07-20 Thesis (University of Nottingham only) NonPeerReviewed application/pdf en cc_by https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/73057/1/Final%20thesis%20with%20approved%20corrections%20.pdf Hawley-Sibbett, Ruby Ellen (2023) Wales, the West Country, and the Midlands in female-authored novels, 1810-1820. PhD thesis, University of Nottingham. 1810s Romanticism novel Jane Austen space setting regional Midlands West Country Wales women's writing women writers |
| spellingShingle | 1810s Romanticism novel Jane Austen space setting regional Midlands West Country Wales women's writing women writers Hawley-Sibbett, Ruby Ellen Wales, the West Country, and the Midlands in female-authored novels, 1810-1820 |
| title | Wales, the West Country, and the Midlands in female-authored novels, 1810-1820 |
| title_full | Wales, the West Country, and the Midlands in female-authored novels, 1810-1820 |
| title_fullStr | Wales, the West Country, and the Midlands in female-authored novels, 1810-1820 |
| title_full_unstemmed | Wales, the West Country, and the Midlands in female-authored novels, 1810-1820 |
| title_short | Wales, the West Country, and the Midlands in female-authored novels, 1810-1820 |
| title_sort | wales, the west country, and the midlands in female-authored novels, 1810-1820 |
| topic | 1810s Romanticism novel Jane Austen space setting regional Midlands West Country Wales women's writing women writers |
| url | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/73057/ |