Writing North America in the Seventeenth Century: English Representations in Print and Manuscript

[...]Armstrong states, her book challenges "over-simplified arguments about the intellectual history of the nascent British Empire by exploring the English reactions to the challenging conditions experienced in the New World" (3-4). In chapter eight 'Transmission and Reception of Amer...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inSeventeenth - Century News (Online) Vol. 66; no. 1/2; p. 95
Main Author Bentley, Greg
Format Book Review
LanguageEnglish
Published College Station Seventeenth-Century News 01.04.2008
Subjects
American English
Historical text analysis
Language history
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Summary:[...]Armstrong states, her book challenges "over-simplified arguments about the intellectual history of the nascent British Empire by exploring the English reactions to the challenging conditions experienced in the New World" (3-4). In chapter eight 'Transmission and Reception of American News in England," Armstrong focuses on the relationship among audience, writer, and text, and she again explores four overlapping issues: (1) "the medium in which the text was reproduced"; (2) "the cost and means of production"; (3) the choice authors made "to distribute their texts in England and in the colonies," even after the establishment of the first printing press in America in 1638; and (4) "the networks of readers who pursued information on North America, and [who] formed communication connections that were utilized to spread the word" (173). Armstrong's style, while it occasionally borders on the mechanical, is direct and unpretentious, and thus her book is accessible and worthwhile. Because it is both informed and informing, this book is exceedingly useful for the novice student of early modem literature-both English and American-and it is an excellent resource for the seasoned scholar.