This doctoral thesis examines the literary series [collection litteraire], considered at one and the same time as a form of publication defined and redefined by the publisher since the invention of the printing press and as a paratextual component that has the ability to act on the process of reading the text: An original aspect of this work is that it combines in the same analysis fields of knowledge that are rarely studied together: the history of the book and of publishing, the sociology of literature and in particular the theory of the literary institution, the theory of paratextuality and reader response theory. This thesis examines separately the two dimensions of the topic but follows a logical progression that concludes with a third section. The first section explores the hypothesis that the literary series is the outcome of a long process of definition and specialization which has accompanied the evolution of French publishing and literature. It then goes on to examine cases illustrating the "convergence" of the two, such as the "Bibliotheque Bleue", the "Bibliotheque universelle des romans", the "Bibliotheque Charpentier", the collections of livraisons illustrees published in the 1850's, the "Collection Michel Levy" and a few collections published by Flammarion and Fayard. Following a rereading of the Genettien paratexte (1987) that reviews and further refines the parameters of the concept (its boundaries, its components and their functions) in order to increase its scope of action, the second section explores in depth the essence of the encounter between the series and literature itself and proposes a theory of the series which positions it in relation to a community of readers and recognizes a different functioning, different risks and effects depending on whether it is destined for a specialized public or the general public. Finally, the third section picks up the historical thread that the first section suspended at the beginning of the 20th century
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.38243 |
| Date | January 2001 |
| Creators | Montreuil, Sophie. |
| Contributors | Ricard, Francois (advisor) |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | French |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Doctor of Philosophy (Département de langue et littérature françaises.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 001871572, proquestno: NQ78737, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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