"Bowen makes theories of class relevant to the eighteenth century by understanding them in terms of culture rather than identity. The theoretical and historical gains of this shift are enormous: 'plebian,' 'middling,' and 'patrician' are transformed from static categories into dynamic terms, relational to a concept of English national culture early in the century and responding to radical politics as they change into the nineteenth century." - Kristina Straub, Professor of Literary and Cultural Studies, Carnegie Mellon University
"At last! A book on eighteenth-century fiction that acknowledges and investigates what the novel borrowed from the chapbooks and broadside ballads of customary culture. Bowen shows us how the laboring class popular forms authorized and infused the fledgling novel." - Ruth Perry, Professor of Literature, Massachusetts Institute of Technology