A Novel Idea

The AHRC has awarded the University of Reading a grant of £179,129 to study the impact of distribution and reading patterns on the novel in Britain during the period 1880-1940. The research looks into what has been seen as the 'missing link' in book history, the role of the reader. The two-year project will start by examining the archives available at the University before extending to further collections. The project will be led by Professor Patrick Parrinder from the School of English and American Literature, and its results will be published in a new Oxford History of the Novel in English, of which Professor Parrinder is general editor.