Between Voice and Print: A Study on the Nineteenth-Century Literary Marketplace

2017 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 25770104
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Literature in English
• Research Institution: Tokyo Medical and Dental University
• Principal Investigator: INOKUMA Keiko 東京医科歯科大学, 教養部, 准教授 (00508369)
• Project Period (FY): 2013-04-01 – 2018-03-31
• Keywords: ディケンズ / 語り / 音声 / 活字文化

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This research project investigated the early- and mid-period novels of Charles Dickens (1812-70), focusing on their narrative techniques that foreground complex intersections of voice and text. The chief aim was to explore his ambivalence within the broader context of 19th-century publishing market, as technological innovations contributed to produce a mass market of literature, and as people’s voices were transformed and standardised into print. My research made clear how Dickens utilised these changes to establish himself as a successful novelist, yet at the same time how he tried to preserve his own authentic voice, away from such cultural commodification.

Free Research Field

イギリス19世紀小説