Geographical Contexts. -- Great Britain / Christopher Gair -- The South / James M. Hutchisson -- The American West / Nathaniel Lewis -- The sea / David Dowling -- France / Andrea Goulet -- The Near East / Travis Montgomery -- The polar regions / Mark Canada. -- Social Contexts. -- The urban environment / Bran Nicol -- Curiosity / Lindsey Hursh -- Alcohol, addiction, and rehabilitation / Paul Fisher -- Fashion, furnishings, and style / Patricia A. Cunningham -- The American stage / Philip Edward Phillips -- Lions and bluestockings / Anne Boyd Rioux -- Slavery and abolitionism / Paul Christian Jones -- The cult of mourning / Therese M. Rizzo. -- The Contexts of Publishing. -- The literary profession / John Evelev -- Magazines / Jeffrey Andrew Weinstock -- Gift books / Kathryn K. Shinn -- Literary piracy / Michael J. Everton -- The art of reviewing / Jonathan Hartmann -- The politics of publishing / Amy Branam. -- Literary Contexts. -- Ancient classics / Gregory Hays -- Rabelais and Lesage / Lois Davis Vines -- The Gothic movement / Alan Brown -- Byron / Chris Beyers -- Folk narrative / Katherine Kim -- Transcendentalism / Heidi Silcox -- Charles Dickens / Tara Moore -- Nathaniel Hawthorne and the art of the tale / Meghan A. Freeman. -- Scientific and Pseudoscientific Contexts. -- Phrenology / Brett Zimmerman -- Photography / Satwik Dasgupta -- Mesmerism / Bruce Mills -- Architecture / Alvin Holm -- The heritage of fiction science / Peter Swirski -- Cosmology and cosmogony / Jonathan Taylor -- Forensic science / Benjamin F. Fisher -- Technology / John Tresch.