Studies in the Rhetoric of Fiction

Studies in the Rhetoric of Fiction investigates the contemporary novel's relation to its forerunners, the picaresques, romances and sentimental novels of the 18th century. Henry Fielding, Laurence Sterne and Jane Austen are stable landmarks, while, of the contemporary practitioners, a handful recur from one chapter to the next, particularly Julian Barnes, Ian McEwan and Kazuo Ishiguro. The chapters share an interest in the rhetoric of fiction, broadly understood as the way in which fictional works achieve their effects on readers, whether by directly addressing a hypothetical reader, using irony and parody, orchestrating competitions between divergent narratives, imitating musical structures, inviting intertextual readings, or openly taking issue with traditional conventions and expectations. Chapters focusing on narrative strategy and metanarrative comment, therefore, alternate with those interrogating reading practices and readerly participation in the rhetorical interchange.