The Common Writer in Modern History (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781526194794)

This book underlines the importance of writing for the subordinate classes, and the variety of uses to which it was put. In eleven new studies by thirteen leading historians of scribal culture, it foregrounds the 'common writer' and contributes to a 'New History from Below'. The book presents pauper letters, ego-documents, life-writing of various kinds, soldiers' and emigrants' correspondence, handwritten newspapers and graffiti in streets and prisons, analysing the major genres of 'ordinary writings'. The studies draw on different disciplines, including cultural history, sociology and ethnography, folklore studies, palaeography and socio-historical linguistics. They range from the early modern Hispanic Empire to twentieth-century Australia, including studies of modern Britain, Iceland, Finland, Italy, Germany, South Africa and the USA. The book demonstrates the importance of studying manuscript culture to give a voice, a presence and dignity to the ordinary protagonists of history.

Author: Martyn Lyons
ISBN-10: 1526194791
ISBN-13: 9781526194794
Publisher: Manchester University Press
Language: English
Published: 01/20/2026
Pages: 264
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.82lbs
Size: 9.21h x 6.14w x 0.55d