Cultures of Improvement in Scottish Romanticism 1707-1840

The first applied research volume in Scottish Romanticism this collection foregrounds the concept of progress as ''improvement'' as a constitutive theme of Scottish writing during the long eighteenth century. It explores improvement as the animating principle behind Scotland’s post-1707 project of modernization a narrative both shaped and reflected in the literary sphere. It represents a vital moment in Romantic studies as a ''four-nations'' interrogation of the British context reaches maturity. Equally the volume contributes to a central concern in the study of Scottish culture amplifying a critical synthesis of Romanticism and Enlightenment. Chapter 9 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 3.0 license. s3-us-west-2.amazonaws/tandfbis/rt-files/docs/Open+Access+Chapters/9781351056427_oachapter9.pdf