Новая книга исследует образы слепоты и парадоксальные связи в современной литературе

Overview - Develops blind theory and uses close reading to examine how visual impairment is portrayed in contemporary literature - Employs multiple definitions of ‘tethering’ to explore representations of sight loss in 21st century novels - Encompasses a range of genres: biofiction, romance novels and historical fiction Part of the book series: Literary Disability Studies (LIDIST) Buy print copy Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout About this book This book explores the representation of visual impairment in 21st century novels. It arises from new research within the growing field of blind studies, engaging with the scholarship of David Bolt, Julia Miele Rodas, Devon Healey and Heather Tilley, among others. Multiple definitions of ‘tethering’ are used to describe relationships between disabled and non-disabled protagonists. In the texts considered here, blind or partially sighted characters encounter discriminatory (ocularcentric) attitudes; equally, they are situated within profound friendships and experience romantic love. The paradoxical ‘tether trope’ can signify a restraining cord or a guided running tool: it may describe a process of disempowerment or a liberating form of connectivity. After a contextualising Introduction (incorporating discussions of Joseph Conrad’s The End of the Tether and Wilkie Collins’ The Dead Secret and Poor Miss Finch), each chapter focuses on a particular literary genre: namely, biofiction, romance and historical fiction. These chapters consider nuanced and complex representations of vision loss (and, more briefly, hearing loss) in contemporary novels by David Lodge, Julian Barnes, Shrabani Basu, Eric Lindstrom, Lucy May Lennox and Anthony Doerr. This study is informed experientially by the author’s own severe visual impairment. Authors and Affiliations About the author Bethan Jones is Senior Lecturer in English within the School of Arts and Humanities at the University of Hull, UK, specialising in modern and contemporary literature. Much of her research has focused on the works of D.H. Lawrence; in 2010, she published an award-winning monograph entitled The Last Poems of D.H. Lawrence: Shaping a Late Style. She has co-edited short fiction and poetry volumes and was editor of the British Journal of D.H. Lawrence Studies from 2000–2005. Recently, her research has focused on visual impairment in contemporary literature, catalysing community-based projects in this area. She also writes about the relationship between literary texts and music. Accessibility Information PDF accessibility summary This PDF has been created in accordance with the PDF/UA-1 standard to enhance accessibility, including screen reader support, described non-text content (images, graphs), bookmarks for easy navigation, keyboard-friendly links and forms and searchable, selectable text. We recognize the importance of accessibility, and we welcome queries about accessibility for any of our products. If you have a question or an access need, please get in touch with us at [email protected]. Please note that a more accessible version of this eBook is available as ePub. EPUB accessibility summary This ebook is designed with accessibility in mind, aiming to meet the ePub Accessibility 1.0 AA and WCAG 2.2 Level AA standards. It features a navigable table of contents, structured headings, and alternative text for images, ensuring smooth, intuitive navigation and comprehension. The text is reflowable and resizable, with sufficient contrast. We recognize the importance of accessibility, and we welcome queries about accessibility for any of our products. If you have a question or an access need, please get in touch with us at [email protected]. Bibliographic Information - Book Title: Sight Loss and the Tethered Self in 21st Century Novels - Authors: Bethan Jones - Series Title: Literary Disability Studies - Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Cham - Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2026 - Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-032-19871-6Published: 15 August 2026 - Softcover ISBN: 978-3-032-19874-7Due: 29 August 2027 - eBook ISBN: 978-3-032-19872-3 - Series ISSN: 2947-7409 - Series E-ISSN: 2947-7417 - Edition Number: 1 - Number of Pages: XIII, 131 - Number of Illustrations: 1 b/w illustrations - Topics: Contemporary Literature, Fiction, Cultural Studies, Literature, general