Consuming Fiction by Terry Lovell

I was initially really intimidated by this book, because it examines the novel in relation to capitalism and anything that has to do with economic analysis makes me panic. But to my surprise I actually understood what was being said, since it's very accessible and not too heavy on theory. It's a fairly old study (1987) and I'm guessing that it has changed a lot of things in literary studies, since it promotes paying attention to Gothic fiction by female authors, as well as late-19th-century 'New Woman' fiction. Since now students on a literature course are far more likely to have read Ann Radcliffe than Henry Fielding, a lot of the changes this book advocates have happened (which makes me very happy since it show how much literary studies have expanded in the past few decades). Basically, this book re-examines and partially challenges the assumption that the novel is a product of bourgeois society and new means of production. I liked this book because it introduced me to a lot of ideas of Marxist and feminist criticism in a very non-intimidating way. While I don't like either of those strands much, it was very interesting to read about them and understand the thinking that goes on behind forming the canon of literature as we know it, which is what this book is largely about, and how much this formation has to do with gender, class and consumerism.