Paul Giles traces the paradoxical relations between English and American literature from 1730 through 1860, suggesting how the formation of a literary tradition in each national culture was deeply dependent upon negotiation with its transatlantic counterp
"Paul Giles . . . describes episodes of literary exchange between Britain and America not as case studies in reproduction or disavowal but as moments of 'transnational convergence.'. . . A rich and reasoned understanding of what these influences may be and of the often inspired anxiety the produce." -Modern Language Quarterly