Exhibition: Across the Channel: English literature on the Continent in the 18th century
Please note: This exhibition is accessible during opening hours.
Despite the absence of well-established international聽distribution channels and networks, English literature聽was widely available to European readers during the聽18th century in both English-language editions聽printed in cities all across the Continent and in聽translations and bi-lingual editions.
This exhibition is built around the works of a number聽of authors including novelists, poets, essayists and聽philosophers, some of whom are major figures and聽others now hardly known, but all of whom had their聽works circulating on the Continent. Three authors 鈥撀燨liver Goldsmith (1730?-1774), Laurence Sterne (1713-1768) and Frances Burney (1752-1840) 鈥� are
representative of the whole. In the case of Goldsmith,聽his novel The Vicar of Wakefield is present in multiple聽editions and what is of particular interest is how many聽places in Germany saw its publication and how many聽of the French editions were printed in England. Sterne聽was a particular favourite in German-speaking聽countries but was also popular in France and in
Sweden, as the Lund edition testifies. Burney鈥檚 first聽three novels, in particular Evelina, enjoyed wide聽popularity and appeared in English editions and in聽translations across the Continent; there are some sixty聽recorded lifetime editions of the novel.
In response to the theme of this year鈥檚 鈥� 鈥淗ow do books, book cultures, or book聽systems spread and readapt?鈥� 鈥� this exhibition can聽only begin to suggest the multitude of questions that聽these editions pose. Why were English language聽books being printed in Vienna? Why was The Vicar of聽Wakefield so popular and what do the German English聽editions say about language learning? What was the聽attraction that Pope held for continental readers? Why聽did English novels attract so many non-English聽readers? Or were they merely examples of聽sophisticated decoration?
