Drawing on such original sources as diaries, commonplace books, fan mail to authors, booksellers' reports, and student papers, the contributors to Reading Acts recover a wealth of important historical information that expands our understanding of reading in the United States during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The emphasis throughout is on the act of reading and the attendant proposition that reading acts upon those who read.

Covered in this volume are a wide range of fascinating topics, including the cultural agency of women during the early national period; readers'...