Be It Ever So Humble: Poverty, Fiction, and the Invention of the Middle-Class Home

Title Page, Copyright, Dedication

Be It Ever So Humble MacKenzie, rev pages.indd i MacKenzie, rev pages.indd i 12/5/12 3:57 PM 12/5/12 3:57 PM Winner of the Walker Cowen Memorial Prize for an outstanding work of scholarship in eighteenth-century studies MacKenzie, rev pages.indd ii MacKenzie, rev pages.indd ii 12/5/12 3:57 PM 12/5/12 3:57 PM Be It Ever So Humble Poverty, Fiction, and the Invention of the Middle-Class Home Scott R. MacKenzie University of Virginia Press Charlottesville and London MacKenzie, rev pages.indd iii MacKenzie, rev pages.indd iii 12/5/12 3:57 PM 12/5/12 3:57 PM University of Virginia Press© 2013 by the Rector and Visitors of the University of Virginia All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper First published 2013 1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data MacKenzie, Scott R., 1969– Be it ever so humble : poverty, fiction, and the invention of the middle-class home / Scott R. MacKenzie. p. cm. — (Winner of the Walker Cowen Memorial Prize) Includes bibliographical references and index. isbn 978-0-8139-3341-2 (cloth : alk. paper) — isbn 978-0-8139-3342-9 (e-book) 1. Home in literature. 2. English fiction—18th century—History and criticism. 3. Middle class in literature. 4. Nationalism in literature. 5. Social structure—England— History—18th century. 6. Poverty—Government policy—England. 7. English literature—Scottish authors—History and criticism. 8. Literature and society—History—18th century. I. Title. II. Title: Poverty, fiction, and the invention of the middle-class home. pr858.h65.m33 2013 823⬘.6093564—dc23 2012022706 MacKenzie, rev pages.indd iv MacKenzie, rev pages.indd iv 12/5/12 3:57 PM 12/5/12 3:57 PM For my mother and father MacKenzie, rev pages.indd v MacKenzie, rev pages.indd v 12/5/12 3:57 PM 12/5/12 3:57 PM MacKenzie, rev pages.indd vi MacKenzie, rev pages.indd vi 12/5/12 3:57 PM 12/5/12 3:57 PM ...