{"product_id":"before-the-west-was-west-amy-t-hamilton-9780803254893","title":"Before the West Was West: Critical Essays on Pre-1800 Literature of the American Frontiers","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eBefore the West Was West\u003c\/i\u003e examines the extent to which scholars have engaged in-depth with pre-1800 \"western\" texts and asks what we mean by \"western\" American literature in the first place and \u003ci\u003ewhen\u003c\/i\u003e that designation originated.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eCalling into question the implicit temporal boundaries of the \"American West\" in literature, a literature often viewed as having commenced only at the beginning of the 1800s, \u003ci\u003eBefore the West Was West\u003c\/i\u003e explores the concrete, meaningful connections between different texts as well as the development of national ideologies and mythologies. Examining pre-nineteenth-century writings that do not fit conceptions of the Wild West or of cowboys, cattle ranching, and the Pony Express, these thirteen essays demonstrate that no single, unified idea or geography defines the American West. \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eContributors investigate texts ranging from the Norse Vinland Sagas and Mary Rowlandson's famous captivity narrative to early Spanish and French exploration narratives, an eighteenth-century English novel, and a play by Aphra Behn. Through its examination of the disparate and multifaceted body of literature that arises from a broad array of cultural backgrounds and influences, \u003ci\u003eBefore the West Was West \u003c\/i\u003eapprehends the literary West in temporal as well as spatial and cultural terms and poses new questions about \"westernness\" and its literary representation. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Amy T. Hamilton\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 080325489X\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780803254893\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University of Nebraska Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 11\/01\/2014\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 376\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.52lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.00h x 6.00w x 1.00d\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Amy T. Hamilton","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":46136285954303,"sku":"9780803254893","price":70.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_7e036830-46ad-4b7f-bd0a-594daa5f81c0.jpg?v=1726416228","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/before-the-west-was-west-amy-t-hamilton-9780803254893","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}