This succinct investigation of the impact of ‘packaging' on the early British novel is carefully focused, soundly supported, and convincingly argued. Price brings together book history and narrative theory in subtle ways to reach surprisingly original and engaging conclusions about the effects anthologizers, abridgers, and republishers have had on the production and form of narratives, particularly women's fiction. The book deals primarily with writers like Richardson, Scott, Eliot, and Mrs. Humphry Ward, but its commentary extends to present-day issues like intellectual property, the canon wars, and the effects of the Norton anthologies on the classroom. In an age burdened with overly theoretical and overwritten scholarship, Price's approach is refreshingly precise and clear. The book is unusually well informed by contemporaneous as well as contemporary reviews and criticism. Equally refreshing is the thoughtfulness and frequent wry duality of Price's observations. Essential for any self-respecting academic library...