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Thomas Recchio, Elizabeth Gaskell's Cranford: A Publishing History. Farnham, England, and Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2009, pp.ix + 273. Hardback, £49.50; Kindle, $79.96, isbn 9780754665731, 9780754696414 (ebk.)
Thomas Recchio's study of Cranford, issued as part of Ashgate's series Studies in Publishing History, is more than a mere bibliographic record or even a simple publishing history. Recchio provides an insightful theoretical analysis of Cranford as he traces its evolution from its birth as an instalment in Household Words to a novel, to an illustrated novel, to its edited articulations as an educa- tional medium, to a performance theatre piece and, most recently, audio and televised film versions. These are all placed within the cultural realities of which they were an integral part.
In his introductory chapter, 'Materiality as Interpretation in Cranford', Recchio outlines his approach to documenting the history of Cranford, linking it to theories of D.F. McKenzie (sociology of texts), Gerard Genette (paratext and authorial intention), Hans-Georg Gademer (historical tradition and literary tradition) and, especially, M. M. Bakhtin (literary re-accentuation). He frames his analysis of Cranford with a brief profile of the various forms the work has taken, noting the parallels between these forms and the chapters in his study. While acknowledging that his emphasis is on British and American versions, he makes a nod toward the many translations, from the first French edition in 1856 to the recent Greek translation in 2001, as well as the various Japanese trans- lations between 1922 and 1985. He traces his own scholarly history with both the text of Cranford and the literary criticism it has attracted in the last several decades (Coral Landsbury, Nina Auerbach, Andrew H. Miller, Patsy Stoneman, Loma Huett and Borislav Knezevic), focusing on the 'various material manifes- tations of Cranford in relation to the material historical realities within which they circulated' (p. 9). Against this background, Recchio presents his assessment of several key themes of the work which have been the focus of recent scholar- ship: exploration of the underlying current of Miss Matty's relationship with Mr. Holbrook, the concept of nostalgic resistance, the courage and strength of Miss Matty and the community of which she is a part, and (especially) Miss Matty's psychological...