Copyright 2010 by Lexington Books. All Rights Reserved

Charles Dickens's American Audience is the latest book by Professor Robert McParland, my friend and fellow collaborator on "Long Have I Waited".  Bob's generosity in sharing his talent with the FUND A NUN PROJECT has touched me deeply and I want to share with you another one of his accomplishments.  The book, a result of seven years of research and writing, is now being published. 

You can pre-order the book at Amazon or Barnes and Noble:

Click Here To View at Amazon.com  or Click Here To View at Barnes and Noble

Robert McParland is associate professor of English and chair of the English department at Felician College.

Literary Criticism for Charles Dickens's American Audience 

“Robert McParland’s insightful bookprovides a fascinating account of Dickens’s role in shaping America’s social andcultural identity in the nineteenth century. The author interestingly outlinesthe many ways in which American readers engaged with Dickens’s works, and theways in which Dickens’s books influenced American ideologies. McParland suppliesa wealth of material to substantiate his arguments in this well-writtenbook.”—Katie Halsey, University of Stirling

 “This book goes beyond simplydefining and hearing testimony from the Dickens-reading community in America. Itclosely examines a historical time and an emerging national consciousness thatdefined the American identity before and after the Civil War. As McParland writes, ‘Dickens was part of the conversation’ about what America was and whoAmericans wanted to be. This is a very lively and diverse examination of thetremendous influence that Dickens himself and his published works exercised uponthe formation of the American character in the nineteenth century.”—William Joseph Palmer, Purdue University

 From 1837 to 1912, Charles Dickenswas by far the most popular writer for American readers. Through several sourcesincluding statistics, literary biography, newspapers, memoirs, diaries, letters,and interviews, Robert McParland examines a historical time and an emergingnational consciousness that defined the American identity before and after theCivil War. American voices present their views, tastes, emotional reactions andidentifications, and deep attachment and love for Dickens’s characters, stories,themes, and sensibilities as well as for the man himself. Bringing togethercontemporary reactions to Dickens and his works, this book paints a portrait ofthe American people and of American society and culture from 1837 to the turn ofthe twentieth century. It is in this view of nineteenth-century America—itspeople and their values, their reading habits and cultural views, the scenariosof their everyday lives even in the face of the drastic changes of the emergingnation—that Charles Dickens’s American Audience makes its greatestimpact.

Please join me in congratulating Bob for Charles Dickens's American Audience , one of the cornerstones of his academic work. 

My prayers are with you.