Allison Stedman - Rococo Fiction in France, 1600-1715: Seditious Frivolity

Acknowledgments

T his book represents the evolution of my thinking about early modern, generically heterogeneous literary production over a twenty-year period and would not have been possible without the intellectual generosity of so many people along the way. At Dartmouth College, Lawrence D. Kritzman, David LaGuardia, Andrea Tarnowski, Gerd Gemnden, Diana Taylor, Irene Kacandes, Marianne Hirsch, Kathleen Wine, and the late Suzanne Zantop nurtured my fascination with early modern literature, comparative literature, and literary theory. Nancy L. Canepa and Faith E. Beasley not only shaped my thinking about literature and its engagement in the cultural field, but also presented models of academic innovation, rigor, and integrity that have made all of my future work possible. To Nancy, thank you for serving as a daily model of devotion to the creative process and for teaching me an academic work ethic that I have never abandoned. To Faith, who has continued to read everything I have ever written and has served as my supporter, critic, cheerleader, and reality check for more than two decades, my debt to you is immeasurable. Thank you for reading drafts of this study in so many different incarnations and for all of the valuable insights and criticisms you provided over more than a decade of rewritings. This book could not have existed without you.

To the members of my dissertation committee at the University of Pennsylvania, Kevin Brownlee, Gerald Prince, and especially to Caroline Weber, my dissertation advisor, I am deeply grateful to you for sharing your time and expertise, particularly with respect to the first chapter of this study.

To my colleagues at Bucknell University during the early 2000s, Susan L. Fischer, John Westbrook, Tulu Bayar, Annie Randall, Katherine M. Faull, and Olivia Bloechl, thank you for serving as the primary interlocutors for this project as the majority of my dissertation fell to the wayside and the new idea for this book took shape. To Susan, especially, thank you for your friendship and intellectual companionship, for reading the final version of this manuscript, and for your always astute insights into my motivations for choosing certain ideas over others, and into my work in general. To Greg Clingham, thank you for your faith in me and in this project.

To my colleagues at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Anabel Aliaga-Buchenau, Christine Haynes, Katherine Stephenson, Michle Bissire, and Paul Youngman: thank you for your faith in the importance of this project and for being such wonderful people to work with. To Paul, thank you for reading an early draft of the introduction and for your important insights and suggestions.

To my chair, Robert Reimer, and to my dean, Nancy Gutierrez, thank you for the financial support that you have lent to this project and to my research in general. The majority of the research for this book was undertaken in Paris at the Bibliothque Nationale de France and the Bibliothque de lArsenal during the summers of 2008 and 2010 with the benefit of a University of North Carolina at Charlotte Faculty Research and Development Grant (2008), a Deans Travel Grant (2010), and significant departmental financial support (20072012). Preliminary research for this book also received support from an Andrew W. Mellon Summer Research Fellowship, two Deans Travel Grants, and an International Travel Grant from Bucknell University.

To the wonderful colleagues in my field who read and commented on portions of this manuscript, especially Richard L. Goodkin, Juliette Cherbuliez, Claire Goldstein, Kathrina A. LaPorta, and the anonymous readers at Bucknell University Press: thank you for helping me to avoid countless pitfalls as my own thinking about hybrid literature evolved. To Claire and Juliette, your intellectual companionship is my lifeline. I am unbelievably fortunate to have you as friends.