Literary mediality in the long eighteenth century: a textual, paratextual, and print-cultural study of James Thomson's 'The Seasons', 1730-1820

James Thomson’s descriptive long poem 'The Seasons', originally published in 1730, had a profound impact on eighteenth- and nineteenth-century literature and print culture in Britain and in Europe more generally. This dissertation aims to produce a textual, paratextual, and print-cultural study of Thomson’s poem, from 1730 to 1820. It adopts an interdisciplinary methodological framework, drawing on methodologies of genre theory, print culture studies, book history, and translation studies, to generate a novel understanding of the text by examining the ways in which the poem was mediated both textually and materially throughout the period. Engaging with the latest developments in print culture and book-historical research, it examines the paratextual apparatuses and material packaging of eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century editions of The Seasons to make sense of their interpretative and cultural ramifications. It identifies the economic impulses and editorialising strategies informing developments in the make-up of editions of the poem to offer insights into the history of the production and marketing of books in Britain and beyond

The Spatial-Economic Impact of High-Speed Trains: Nationally (The UK IC125) and Regionally (A British-French Comparison)

The arrival of high-speed trains (HST) brings an unprecedented time-space shrinkage that could greatly enhance inter-city connectivity. Meanwhile, it offers a major opportunity to reshape uneven spatial-economic development. However, the existing literature has presented a mixed picture. Thus, considerable disagreement on the wider effects of HST remains. This research contributes to the debate with new empirical evidence on two inter-related scales, based on the experience of British InterCity 125/225 and UK/France comparative practice from the West Coast Main Line modernisation and the TGV-Nord. The thesis first demonstrates the quantitative evidence. Then it takes a planning standpoint in examining multi-level government intervention in seizing opportunities presented by HST during the transformation process. The research findings lead to two major conclusions. Firstly, nationally, HST has had demonstrable and varied effects on cities within 1 hour and 2 hours from London, thus helping to generate renewed economies, but this effect has not been automatic or universal. Within 1-hour distance, HST towns located further afield from London could benefit from exploiting both commuting and intrinsic economic strength in knowledge-intensive activities; while 2-hour HST accessibility could benefit mainly from exploiting knowledge-intensive economic functions. Beyond 2 hours, the effect appears weak. Regionally, major regional cities have been reinforced by a HST hub position, but the effects have not necessarily spread out into surrounding sub-regions. HST needs to be well-integrated with urban and regional transport networks, so a spatial-economic relationship between a regional centre and its hinterland could be fostered to produce and magnify the wider effects. Secondly, transport alone is not sufficient to determine the wider effects in reducing regional inequality. Complementary measures are indispensable. Five conditions are found and highlighted to be vital, namely national political economy, constitutional capacity, planning priority and resources, city type and economic trajectory, and leadership and governance

The saint, the béguine and the heretic : laywomen and authority in the late medieval church, c.1200-1400 : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in History at Massey University, Manawatū, New Zealand

Authority in the late medieval Church was usually vested in clerical men, but it could also be acquired by women, even laywomen. This thesis considers the contrasting experiences of three laywomen who attempted to gain authority: Mechthild of Magdeburg (c.1207-c.1282), Marguerite Porete (c.1250-1310), and Catherine of Siena (1347-1380). One was ostracised, one burnt at the stake, and one was canonised. This thesis examines the factors that explain these divergent fates in order to offer more general insights into the problems associated with female authority. Scholarship on women and authority currently focuses predominantly on the nobility and religious, yet these case studies reveal how non-noble laywomen could utilise certain tools to legitimise themselves and achieve recognition that their words were God’s own. This thesis shifts away from the tendency of current historiography to generalise women’s experiences as universal, as a result of their common gender, and focuses instead on the individuality of their experiences. It therefore considers the impact of different political and geographical contexts on their lives, the importance to them of male support, but also the agency each woman had in utilising clerical authority and hagiographical topoi to prove their authority to late medieval audiences

Astronomy and Literature | Canon and Stylometrics

This eighth issue of Interfaces contains two thematic clusters: the first cluster, entitled The Astronomical Imagination in Literature through the Ages, is edited by Dale Kedwards; the second cluster, entitled Medieval Authorship and Canonicity in the Digital Age, is edited by Jeroen De Gussem and Jeroen Deploige