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Series:   Elements in Publishing and Book Culture

The Rise of American Girls' Literature

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 May 2021

Ashley N. Reese
Ashley N. Reese
Affiliation:
University of South Florida

Summary

This Element looks at the publishing history of the genre, girls' literature, in the United States spanning 1850–1940. The genre is set in context, beginning with an examination of the early American women's literature that preceded girls' literature. Then the Element explores several sub-genres of girls' literature, the family story, orphan story, school story, as well as African American girls' literature. Underpinning each of these stories is the bildungsroman, which overwhelmingly ends with girls 'growing down' to marry and raise children, following the ideals outlined in the cult of domesticity.
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Keywords

bildungsromandomestic realismwomen’s literaturenineteenth centurytwentieth centurytwentieth century
Type
Element
Information
Series: Elements in Publishing and Book Culture
Online ISBN: 9781108942546
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication: 17 June 2021

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