{"product_id":"comic-belles-lettres-genealogies-of-humor-and-satire-in-anglo-american-literature-1711-1856-hardcover","title":"Comic Belles Lettres: Genealogies of Humor and Satire in Anglo-American Literature, 1711-1856 - Hardcover","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eJames E. Caron\u003c\/b\u003e (Author), \u003cb\u003eJudith Yaross Lee\u003c\/b\u003e (Editor)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eComic Belles Lettres\u003c\/i\u003e presents a significant rethinking of standard categories in scholarship on antebellum American humor--such as Old Southwest humorists and literary comedians--to provide a richer analysis of the comic writers of the period. By introducing an alternative aesthetic category, \"comic belles lettres,\" and placing it in a transnational context, James E. Caron details a robust cross-cultural background that includes British and American conceptions of masculinity, the eighteenth-century cult of sensibility, and the \"man of feeling\" trope. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eCaron's analysis uncovers a genealogy of comic characters with fresh readings of Washington Irving's \u003ci\u003eSketch Book, \u003c\/i\u003e Nathaniel Hawthorne's \u003ci\u003eThe Blithedale Romance, \u003c\/i\u003e and Harriet Beecher Stowe's \u003ci\u003eUncle Tom's Cabin\u003c\/i\u003e that not only sweeps up other contemporary authors--Donald Mitchell and Frederic Cozzens--but also includes Joseph Addison's famous character Sir Roger de Coverly. In addition, the investigation moves beyond fictional texts to demonstrate the reach of comic belles lettres by discussing two well-known historical figures, Lewis Gaylord Clark and William Thackeray, who embody the aesthetic's signature figure, the Comic Gentleman. This segment delves into contemporary statements about the nature of comic art and comic laughter along with gendered concerns about the production of satire. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eComic Belles Lettres\u003c\/i\u003e situates this unique mode of aesthetics within discursive practices of the 1850s--reviews, essays, and editorial decisions--that constitute important yet routinely overlooked aspects of the antebellum print archive, resulting in a new way of thinking about Anglo-American comic writing in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eJames E. Caron\u003c\/b\u003e is professor emeritus of English at the University of Hawai'i, Mānoa, where he taught American literature for thirty-six years. He is currently copresident of the American Humor Studies Association (AHSA) and is a former senior associate editor of its journal, \u003ci\u003eStudies in American Humor.\u003c\/i\u003e In 2023 he received a lifetime achievement award from the AHSA.\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 336\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.88 x 9 x 6 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e March 23, 2026\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53336964104557,"sku":"9780807186121","price":96.1,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1001\/0823\/9213\/files\/fsihDJDGOp9780807186121.webp?v=1778922785","url":"https:\/\/cleanfreaklab.myshopify.com\/products\/comic-belles-lettres-genealogies-of-humor-and-satire-in-anglo-american-literature-1711-1856-hardcover","provider":"Clean Freak Lab","version":"1.0","type":"link"}