Michael D’alessandro. Staged Readings: Contesting Class in Popular American Theater and Literature, 1835–75

Abstract

Staged Readings argues that a blending of popular literary and theatrical cultures deeply informed class formation in nineteenth-century America – especially the emergence of a white middle class. This excellent study draws on a wide range of archival materials and includes significant analyses of Quaker City, temperance dramas, The Octoroon, and parlour theatricals.