In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

I Précis I Emily Clark University of North Carolina, Greensboro Bradshaw, David J. and Suzanne Ozment, eds. The Voice of Toil: Nineteenth-Century British Writings About Work. Athens: Ohio University Press, 2000. xv + 789 pp. Paper $29.95 The Voice of Toil canvases poetry, short fiction, essays, and drama that explore the representations of conflicting feelings about work as both moral salvation and toil. In the introduction Bradshaw and Ozment emphasize that, despite the downfalls of labor, work instilled a sense of spiritual satisfaction and structure in people that encouraged, above all else, sanity in an intense period of transition. Throughout the text the editors connect each section back to moral satisfaction and "commitment to serve others and a better future for all," which the first chapter, "Work as Mission," discusses. The ubiquitous inclusion of work as a blessing rather than a social curse pervades the "Work as Opportunity " section; we are reminded that even those whose financial status and reputations profited from their occupations participated in the rhetoric of mission . The discourse of work as a humanitarian effort included social activism to address the frustration of England's marginalized workers. The last two sections of the book, "Work as Oppression" and "(Separate) Spheres of Work," examine literature that exposes "the anger and dismay expressed at the conditions of those whom Robert Owen , in 1817, first called 'the working class,'" as well as the discontinuity between work for men and work for women. Bradshaw and Ozment's anthology displays the vast conversation occurring and the breadth of the literature included about work in the nineteenth century. Germano, William. Getting It Published: A Guide for Scholars and Anyone Else Serious About Serious Books. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2001. ix + 191 pp. Paper $15.00 Getting It Published is a no nonsense do-it-yourself guide through the publishing world aimed mostly at graduate students and newly minted professors. Germano not only provides an experienced account of the travails of publishing academic works, but also speaks to the reader frankly, with humor and genuine encouragement, and provides realistic warnings about the pitfalls of the process. In the introduction he explicitly states that the book may serve as a guide to publishing or as a reference tool for the more seasoned writer. However , he emphasizes that in either capacity the text maintains three goals: to explain clearly the publishing process, to help the writer approach publishers successfully, and to "show how the process from submission to publication can 532 BOOK REVIEWS be made to work, and work well, for both publisher and author." The book's subjects cover a vast area of publication issues, ranging from turning a dissertation into a veritable manuscript to obtaining permission to publish television stills to what happens after a book is successfully published and garnishing royalties. Germano offers copious lists of advice on the do's and don'ts of titling manuscripts, writing inquiry letters, and understanding a publisher's contractual obligations. The key issues addressed and the ones that seem to lend the most guidance are those that allow the author to navigate the politics of publishing and academic promotion. Germano provides a step-by-step introduction to the process, but concentrates heavily on the operation of publishing houses, defining the vast variety of editors and readers. He admonishes authors that publishers, as well as evaluators of manuscripts, are aware of the impact of publication on an academic's career; he encourages authors to engage with an academic press enough to identify sufficiently any possible objectionable readers. At the close of Germano 's guide, he provides a short chapter entitled "This Book—And the Next" that chronicles what the author and publisher each contribute to a successful publication in terms of both sales and professional advancement. Lane, Mary E. Bradley. Mizora: A Prophecy. Jean Pfaelzer, ed. and intro. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 2000. xi + 147 pp. Paper $14.95 Originally published in serial format in 1881 in the Cincinnati Commercial and in book format in 1890, Jean Pfaelzer resurrects Lane's feminist Utopian novel by providing readers with a compelling and critical introduction concerning the "woman question" in America during the 1880s. Pfaelzer offers...

pdf

Share