Eighteenth-century philosophy owes much to the early novel. Using the figure of the romance reader this book tells a new story of eighteenth-century reading. The impressionable mind and mutable identity of the romance reader haunt eighteenth-century definitions of the self, and the seductions of fiction insist on making an appearance in philosophy.
'Novel Minds delivers a nuanced understanding of the instabilities and uncertainties of the consciousness shaped by reading imagined in eighteenth-century philosophy and narrative prose. In a lively and engaging style, Tierney-Hynes brings the writings of significant writers into interesting conversation with each other.' - Ros Ballaster, Professor of 18th Century Studies, University of Oxford, UK