War, Literary Culture and Masculinity in Romantic Period Britain, 1750-1850

The aim of this project is to broaden our understanding of the relationship between war and culture by providing a literary analysis of Romantic period military and naval war writing. This was the first body of military writing to have circulated widely within a civilian, commercial market and my project will provide insight into its formative role in the development of a modern culture of war. I will examine its influence on literary theory and practice of the period and will consider how it shaped cultural and gender identities through its representations of military service. By recovering this body of writing I will throw new light onto our understanding of the militaristic dimensions of Romantic and modern culture.