Novel Translations

"Bethany Wiggin addresses the culture of the novel in Europe in what she argues should be understood as the important transitional period of the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. Though she focuses primarily on German-language works, Wiggin intervenes in histories of the novel told merely as narratives of nation, working comparatively across the German-language, French, and English traditions. Deeply engaged with contemporary debates about translation and transnationalism, globalism and world literature, print culture and gender, Wiggin puts pressure on both period and genre categories in innovative ways. Novel Translations will encourage scholars in a number of fields to take a second look at the intersection of several European cultures in these neglected years."—Jane O. Newman, University of California, Irvine
"This book is an excellent and welcome addition to the discussion of the early modern evolution of the novel in general and of the European influences on the German novel, in particular. Wiggin approaches this traditional field in a new and exciting way by presenting fresh information that leads her to stimulating and original interpretations on the basis of a well-synthesized review of current and past critical literature. Her book impresses with its broad disciplinary reach within the context of early modern German studies as it addresses the seasoned scholars with new ideas and approaches graduate students with interpretations and explorations of a variety of narratives, inviting them to engage with a literature quite distant from their accustomed reading experiences."—Gerhild S. Williams, Associate Vice Chancellor and Barbara Schaps Thomas & David M. Thomas Professor in the Humanities, Washington University in St. Louis