Seelye (American literature, U. of Florida) explores the literary dialectic that began with the 1848 publication of Charlotte Bront禱's Jane Eyre , first discussing the contexts from which the
phenomenally popular romance emerged, then settling into his main theme, novels by American writers that were direct or indirect reactions to it. Bront禱 was not addressing young female readers,
he says, because a young adult audience did not exist until her novel helped create it, but the US readers specifically targeted that market. Among other features, he traces the demise of the
Cinderella theme as the new genre matured. Distributed in the US by Associated University Presses. Annotation 穢2005 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
