Sound and Modernity in the Literature of London, 1880-1918

Description

This book explores the literary representation of late Victorian and early Edwardian London from an auditory perspective, arguing that readers should ‘listen’ to impressions of the city, as described by writers such as Conrad, Doyle, Ford and Gissing. It was in this period that London began to ‘sound modern’ and, through a closer hearing of its literature, writers’ wider responses to modernity are revealed. The book is structured into familiar modernist themes, revisiting time and space, social progress and popular culture through an exploration of the sound impressions of some key works. Each chapter is contextualized by these themes, revealing how the sound of the news, social protest, music hall and suburbanization impacted on writers’ literary imaginations. Suitable for students of modernist literature and specialists in sound studies, this book will also appeal to readers with a wider interest in London’s history and popular culture between 1880-1918. Front Matter ....Pages i-xxxi Front Matter ....Pages 1-1 Waiting for the Sound: Noise, Time, and the News (Patricia Pye)....Pages 3-38 Front Matter ....Pages 39-39 Speakers, Listeners, and the Power of the Platform (Patricia Pye)....Pages 41-70 Front Matter ....Pages 71-71 ‘Can’t It Be Stopped?’—London and the Popular Tone (Patricia Pye)....Pages 73-101 Front Matter ....Pages 103-103 Silence, the Suburbs, and Life ‘Beyond the City’ (Patricia Pye)....Pages 105-143 Back Matter ....Pages 145-179