Fragments of Union: Making Connections in Scottish and American Writing [Paperback]

Fragments of Union , a new approach to comparative literary studies, is about forms of connections: between nations, literatures, individuals, words. It asks how, and why, connections get severed, and about the nature of the pieces that remain. Interdisciplinary readings of writings by Scots and Americans re-draw the literary map of both countries during the Enlightenment and Romantic periods. Political, philosophical, cultural and grammatical dimensions give its analysis sharp relevance to the new conditions presented by devolved government in Britain.Frontispiece List of Illustrations Acknowledgements Introduction: 'Join or Die' The Grammar of the Imagination Finding the Boundaries Composing a Self Savaged Texts and Harmonising Sentiments Chains of Association Mapping the Language: A Scottish-American Stylistics of Consciousness Notes Index

'Fragments of Union is an intricate, subtle, and compelling study of nearly two centuries of literature epistemological and political argument, and the 'grammar of the imagination' that binds and separates these different forms. Her thesis is complex, ambitious and tightly worked...Manning's command of her materials is magisterial, but her manner recognises temporality and contingency...this is a vivid and daring book. Fragments of Union brilliantly combines scrupulous integration with a trust in fractures and glimpses, and it is a major contribution to interdisciplinary and transnational scholarship.' - Fiona Robertson, University of Durham, Symbiosis Reviews

'In a short review it is impossible to impart a sense of the breadth of Manning's study. Suffice it to say that her marvellous close readings range widely. Fragments of Union is a work that leads, rather than covers, its field.' - Robert Miles, Studies in Hogg and his World

'This book is elegantly written, intellectually rigorous and full of nuance as it accomplishes the difficult task of dealing with comparative national literalƒ!