Recent approaches to paratext studies in eighteenth-century literature

This survey will provide an insight into the most significant eighteenth-century paratext research in British literary studies produced over the last 20 years, identifying and exploring the key themes and connections that have emerged. Ever since Gérard Genette's ground-breaking book Paratexts: Thresholds of Interpretation (1997) scholars have begun to reconsider and address the function and interpretive value of the paratexts that frame, surround, or are attached to the edges of literary texts. In eighteenth-century studies in particular, paratexts frequently constitute a critical and unique area for the expression of identity and for influencing how texts are read and interpreted. This article reviews the extensive body of scholarship that examines and focuses upon paratexts, and that collectively contributes towards the formation of the much-needed new specialism of paratext studies.