Abstract
Amazon (2013):
Daniel Dennett famously claimed for Darwinian theory the status of universal solvent:
the totalising theory of theories, even of theories of literature. Yet only a few
writers and critics have followed his view. This volume asks why. It examines both
evolution in literature, and the evolution of literature. It looks at literary representations
of Darwinism both historically and synchronically, at how a theory of literature might
be derived from evolutionary theory, and indeed how evolution as a process might be
regarded as itself aesthetic. It complements these theoretical and historical dimensions
of enquiry with the comparative dimension. It asks in short: What have been the representations
of Darwinian evolutionary theory in literature since the late nineteenth century?
What are the leading paradigms in theory and in literature for renovating the evolutionary
model? What were, and are, the differences in British, French, German paradigms of
literary Darwinian reception? How, if at all, did Darwinian modes of thought hybridise
across national borders? Last, but not least: What is the future of the Darwinian
mode?