French Literature Reviews - 2026
A. Legrand, Des romancières sous la Restauration. Genre et réception
Novel and Narrative Prose
Des romancières sous la Restauration. Genre et réception
Amélie Legrand
Paris, Classiques Garnier, coll. Masculin/féminin dans l’Europe moderne, 2018
EAN : 9782406063711
726 pages
79 €
OVERVIEW
Literary history often associates the Bourbon Restoration with sentimental women's fiction, deemed less worthy of interest than the realist novel that emerged around 1830. Analyzing the critical reception of female novelists during this period, this study seeks to measure the impact of gender relations on their aesthetic choices.
This scholarly monograph contributes to the field of literary history and gender studies by reevaluating a period frequently overshadowed by the rise of the nineteenth-century realist novel. By examining the interplay between authorship and critical reception, Amélie Legrand investigates how societal expectations and masculine literary norms influenced the production and evaluation of women's writing during the 1810s and 1820s.
The volume will interest researchers, graduate students, and specialists in French literature, nineteenth-century studies, and cultural history. It offers valuable perspectives for those seeking to understand the historical marginalization of women writers and the evolving criteria of literary value in modern France.