Ph.D. thesis by Tilda Maria Forselius
English title: Good day, my reader! Among narrators, letter writers, printers and other contribut... more English title: Good day, my reader! Among narrators, letter writers, printers and other contributors in early Swedish weekly press 1730–1773.
Abstract: The thesis deals with the early press of 'moral weeklies' in Sweden during the period 1730 to 1773, focussing on media technological conditions and the uses of the epistolary form. This genre, which initially followed the pattern of the English Spectator, emerged in the 1730s with nine journals produced in Stockholm. These were the first periodicals in Sweden that aimed to entertain as well as instruct. The study begins with the aim of finding explanations for their sudden emergence, by looking into the cultural and technological conditions of the period; such as printing, distribution, censorship practices, and potential audiences (chapters 3–6). The fall of autocracy and the rise of an early parlamentarianism provided the background. Stockholm attracted printers and book dealers, and a new generation of literati made careers in the state administration. Among these were several of the journals’ editors, as well as potential readers. In the next part (chapters 7–8), the extensive and varied use of the epistolary form in these weeklies is analysed, as serving different purposes. A closer examination and interpretation is made of the epistolary material in Sedolärande Mercurius [Didactic Mercury](1730-1731), edited by Carl and Edvard Carlsson, and Then Swänska Argus [The Swedish Argus] (1732-1734), edited by Olof Dalin. In Sedolärande Mercurius a number of letters explore the theme of problems with foreign trade; and in Then Swänska Argus satires in epistolary form paint a picture of ideas from abroad posing a threat to social life, and especially to married life.
The last part (chapters 9–10) follows these trends further in time, by looking into the uses of the epistolary form in a couple of journals in the latter half of the 18th century: Bref Om Blandade Ämnen [Letters about a variety of subjects] (1754), edited by Carl Christoffer Gjörwell; and Brefwäxling [Letter Exchange] (1772–1773) by Catharina Ahlgren. Brefwäxling in particular differs substantially from the journals in the 1730s, a fact that is discussed in terms of a transition from oral culture to a more literary one, new trends in epistolary rhetoric, and the gender of the narrator. The methods used in the study are archival research and textual analysis.
Keywords: Sedolärande Mercurius, Then Swänska Argus, Bref Om Blandade Ämnen, Brefwäxling, early periodicals, Spectator-genre, moral weeklies, epistolary form, letters to the editor, letter writing practices, eighteenth century literature, Carl Carlsson [Carleson], Edvard Carlsson [Carleson], Olof Dalin [von Dalin], Carl Christoffer Gjörwell, Catharina Ahlgren, coffee houses in Stockholm, handwritten newspapers, Eva Insenstierna
God dag, min läsare! Bland berättare, brevskrivare, boktryckare och andra bidragsgivare i tidig svensk veckopress 1730-1773 (See above for fulltext version published 2015)
Ph.D. dissertation at University of Gothenburg, Sweden, 2013.
The thesis deals with the early pr... more Ph.D. dissertation at University of Gothenburg, Sweden, 2013.
The thesis deals with the early press of 'moral weeklies' in Sweden during the period 1730 to 1773, focussing on media technological conditions and the uses of the epistolary form. This genre, which initially followed the pattern of the English Spectator, emerged in the 1730s with nine journals produced in Stockholm. These were the first periodicals in Sweden that aimed to entertain as well as instruct. The study begins with the aim of finding explanations for their sudden emergence, by looking into the cultural and technological conditions of the period; such as printing, distribution, censorship practices, and potential audiences (chapters 3–6). The fall of autocracy and the rise of an early parlamentarianism provided the background. Stockholm attracted printers and book dealers, and a new generation of literati made careers in the state administration. Among these were several of the journals’ editors, as well as potential readers. In the next part (chapters 7–8), the extensive and varied use of the epistolary form in these weeklies is analysed, as serving different purposes. A closer examination and interpretation is made of the epistolary material in Sedolärande Mercurius [Didactic Mercury](1730-1731), edited by Carl and Edvard Carlsson, and Then Swänska Argus [The Swedish Argus] (1732-1734), edited by Olof Dalin. In Sedolärande Mercurius a number of letters explore the theme of problems with foreign trade; and in Then Swänska Argus satires in epistolary form paint a picture of ideas from abroad posing a threat to social life, and especially to married life.
The last part (chapters 9–10) follows these trends further in time, by looking into the uses of the epistolary form in a couple of journals in the latter half of the 18th century:Bref Om Blandade Ämnen [Letters about a variety of subjects] (1754), edited by Carl Christoffer Gjörwell; and Brefwäxling [Letter Exchange](1772–1773) by Catharina Ahlgren. Brefwäxling in particular differs substantially from the journals in the 1730s, a fact that is discussed in terms of a transition from oral culture to a more literary one, new trends in epistolary rhetoric, and the gender of the narrator. The methods used in the study are archival research and textual analysis.
Keywords: Sedolärande Mercurius, Then Swänska Argus, Bref Om Blandade Ämnen, Brefwäxling, early periodicals, Spectator-genre, moral weeklies, epistolary form, letters to the editor, letter writing practices, eighteenth century literature, Carl Carlsson [Carleson], Edvard Carlsson [Carleson], Olof Dalin [von Dalin], Carl Christoffer Gjörwell, Catharina Ahlgren, coffee houses in Stockholm, handwritten newspapers, Eva Insenstierna
Papers in Peer-reviewed Academic Journals by Tilda Maria Forselius
Journal of European Periodical Studies, vol. 1: 1, 2016
Then Swänska Argus, a weekly journal in the Spectator pattern, was published in Stockholm between... more Then Swänska Argus, a weekly journal in the Spectator pattern, was published in Stockholm between 1732 and 1734. Whereas the editor and author Olof Dalin (1708–63) has gained much fame for the enterprise, not much is known about the printer Benjamin Gottlieb Schneider (16??–1738). In this essay I focus on the available evidence about the printer and printing conditions, as well as on the fact that several essays and shorter segments in Then Swänska Argus are addressed to the printer or deal with printing issues. My thesis is that this content played a part in the identity formation of the medium, as it stands for the editor’s interest in the printer and related technology at a time when the moral weekly was new in Sweden. By displaying the making of the medium and the difficulties around it, these passages enable readers to witness the drama of production where the printer plays a leading role. Furthermore, as the narrator Argus is addressing the readers directly and pleading with them to be loyal followers in spite of the printing errors or other potential problems, Argus is also making them actively aware of their part in this drama. In so doing, an education of the readership in questions pertaining to the production process is taking place.
Probing Pioneer Girl Sleuths: Puck Larsson and Nancy Drew in 1950s Girls' Book Series in Sweden
The Lion and the Unicorn, vol. 35:1, Jan 2011
Tidskrift för Litteraturvetenskap, vol 38:3–4, 2008
dr kennedys skeva diagnos om berättarens makt och begränsning i Joseph Conrads »amy Foster« av Ti... more dr kennedys skeva diagnos om berättarens makt och begränsning i Joseph Conrads »amy Foster« av Tilda Maria Forselius Forselius (1952) är doktorand i litteraturvetenskap vid Göteborgs universitet. Hon har tidigare arbetat som journalist och redaktör. Avhandlingsprojektet behandlar 1700-talets svenska essätidskrifter med tonvikt på användningen av brevformen. Under de senaste åren har hon publicerat artiklar i tidskrifterna Women's Writing och Clues samt i flera antologier, exempelvis i Minette
Clues: A Journal of Detection, vol. 24:2, 2006
In this paper, I analyse the narrative in Minette Walters's The Shape of Snakes, focusing on the... more In this paper, I analyse the narrative in Minette Walters's The Shape of Snakes, focusing on the role of the interpolated letters, the gothic references, and the construction on the first-person narrator-protagonist, who proves to be unreliable. Eclectic uses of genre conventions mean that reading strategies must be reconsidered during reading.
The Body and the Decent Inner Self: Letters by Julie Björckegren, Wife of a Swedish Mayor, 1789-91
Women's Writing, vol. 13:1, 2006
The body of the individual aroused special interest in discourses of the European Enlightenment. ... more The body of the individual aroused special interest in discourses of the European Enlightenment. One of the questions at stake in literary, rhetorical and epistolary practices concerned what can be inferred about a person's inner self on the basis of his or her bodily appearance. In the second half of the 1700s, the new epistolary rhetoricians recommended that letter writers throw off the stiff personas of classical rhetoric and instead perform the discourse of the heart. The proposed performance, however, was constrained by new parameters, not least strong gender biases. The impact of these cultural discourses are discussed in relation to letters written between 1789 and 1791 by Julie Björckegren, the wife of a Swedish mayor, to Count Carl Sparre, her former lover. Her writing about her body and her social roles is interpreted as a self-reflective practice formed within the constraints of the rhetorical and cultural context. By this practice she shapes her subjectivity and constructs her self as a bourgeois woman.
Book Chapters by Tilda Maria Forselius
The Spectatorial Press from the Kingdom of Sweden
Spectator-Type Periodicals in International Perspective. Enlightened Moral Journalism in Europe and North America, ed. Misia Sophia Doms. (Studies in the History of European Periodicals I.) Berlin: Peter Lang, 2020
In this chapter, I describe the main features of the development of the Swedish moral weeklies fr... more In this chapter, I describe the main features of the development of the Swedish moral weeklies from the genre’s early appearance in the 1730s until the 1770s. The 1730s were the genre’s prime time regarding the number of publications launched, their intertextual connection to spectatorial magazines in other languages and the success of one of the journals, Then Swänska Argus (1732–1734). From 1740 onwards, the number of publications within the genre declined, but the genre’s forms and modes were later adapted and applied in new periodicals as an entertaining supplement to other main content.
Discourses on Economy in the Spectators, eds. Klaus-Dieter Ertler et al. (Studien zur Romanistik 32.) Hamburg: Verlag Dr Kovac, 2018
In this article, I focus on how questions about economy were raised and discussed in the Swedish ... more In this article, I focus on how questions about economy were raised and discussed in the Swedish moral weeklies Sedolärande Mercurius (1730–1731) and Then Swänska Argus (1732–1734). These questions concern the nation’s economy and the conditions for trade as well as how consumption and behaviours influenced each other. When this content has been noted and, in some cases, examined by previous scholars, the emphasis has been more on what (the ideas) than on how (the rhetoric or the presentation of arguments). My aim is to contribute to the knowledge of the latter by describing and analysing the forms of the arguments, paying attention to similarities as well as differences between the two journals. The methodological approach is a close analytical study of the texts. I draw on studies in history and the history of ideas to contextualise and interpret. The analysis shows that the epistolary form (purported ”letters to the editor”) was an important rhetoric vehicle for bringing sensitive matters to the fore, especially in Sedelärande Mercurius. In Then Swänska Argus, satire is the most frequently used form for bringing up economic issues. In both weeklies (purported) female conduct is used as a negative paradigm in the discourses about economy and associated with xenophobic arguments.
Minette Walters and the Meaning of Justice. Essays on the Crime Novels, eds. Mary Hadley and Sarah D. Fogle, Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland, 2008
First published in Clues: A Journal of Detection, vol. 24:2 (see the relevant post)
Last letters, ed. by Sylvie Crinquand. Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2008
Brevkonst, red. Paulina Helgesson & Anna Nordenstam, Stockholm/Stehag: Symposion, ss. 45-74, 2003
In this chapter I analyze a letter collection of 53 letters written from Julie Björckegren, born ... more In this chapter I analyze a letter collection of 53 letters written from Julie Björckegren, born Ekerman (1765–1800) to her former lover Carl Sparre (1723-1791), a count and a highly ranked official in Stockholm. At the time of the writing of these letters in 1789-91, Julie Björckegren var married to a Major in Linköping. She was in the process of building up a new life in the small-city context. She tells Sparre about this life with household work, animal keeping, marriage, socializing with the city dwellers in Linköping and more. I take interest in the story about the identity formation that she tells about, and consider her letters as a part of that process.
Book Reviews by Tilda Maria Forselius
1700-tal: Nordic Journal for Eighteenth-Century Studies, vol. 17, 2020
Dissertation reviews 165 DISSERTATION REVIEW Christoffer Åhlman, Mötet med det skrivna ordet. Kvi... more Dissertation reviews 165 DISSERTATION REVIEW Christoffer Åhlman, Mötet med det skrivna ordet. Kvinnors läsande och skrivande under 1700talet, Studia Historica Upsaliensia 265 (Uppsala: Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis, 2019). 230 pp.
Sjuttonhundratal. Nordic Yearbook for Eighteenth-Century Studies, vol. 14, 2017
Tidskrift för litteraturvetenskap, vol. 44:3–4, 2014
Barnboken. Journal of Childen's literature research, vol. 36, May 22, 2013
Sjuttonhundratal. Nordic Yearbook for Eighteenth-Century Studies, 2009
Conference Proceedings by Tilda Maria Forselius
Kulturstudier i Sverige. Nationell forskarkonferens 13-15 juni 2005, Linköping Electronic Conference Proceedings, nr 15, artikel 21, 2005
Litteraturvetenskapliga institutionen, Göteborgs universitet Paper från ACSIS nationella forskark... more Litteraturvetenskapliga institutionen, Göteborgs universitet Paper från ACSIS nationella forskarkonferens för kulturstudier, Norrköping 13-15 juni 2005. Konferensrapport publicerad elektroniskt på www.ep.liu.se/ecp/015/. © Författaren.
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Ph.D. thesis by Tilda Maria Forselius
Abstract: The thesis deals with the early press of 'moral weeklies' in Sweden during the period 1730 to 1773, focussing on media technological conditions and the uses of the epistolary form. This genre, which initially followed the pattern of the English Spectator, emerged in the 1730s with nine journals produced in Stockholm. These were the first periodicals in Sweden that aimed to entertain as well as instruct. The study begins with the aim of finding explanations for their sudden emergence, by looking into the cultural and technological conditions of the period; such as printing, distribution, censorship practices, and potential audiences (chapters 3–6). The fall of autocracy and the rise of an early parlamentarianism provided the background. Stockholm attracted printers and book dealers, and a new generation of literati made careers in the state administration. Among these were several of the journals’ editors, as well as potential readers. In the next part (chapters 7–8), the extensive and varied use of the epistolary form in these weeklies is analysed, as serving different purposes. A closer examination and interpretation is made of the epistolary material in Sedolärande Mercurius [Didactic Mercury](1730-1731), edited by Carl and Edvard Carlsson, and Then Swänska Argus [The Swedish Argus] (1732-1734), edited by Olof Dalin. In Sedolärande Mercurius a number of letters explore the theme of problems with foreign trade; and in Then Swänska Argus satires in epistolary form paint a picture of ideas from abroad posing a threat to social life, and especially to married life.
The last part (chapters 9–10) follows these trends further in time, by looking into the uses of the epistolary form in a couple of journals in the latter half of the 18th century: Bref Om Blandade Ämnen [Letters about a variety of subjects] (1754), edited by Carl Christoffer Gjörwell; and Brefwäxling [Letter Exchange] (1772–1773) by Catharina Ahlgren. Brefwäxling in particular differs substantially from the journals in the 1730s, a fact that is discussed in terms of a transition from oral culture to a more literary one, new trends in epistolary rhetoric, and the gender of the narrator. The methods used in the study are archival research and textual analysis.
Keywords: Sedolärande Mercurius, Then Swänska Argus, Bref Om Blandade Ämnen, Brefwäxling, early periodicals, Spectator-genre, moral weeklies, epistolary form, letters to the editor, letter writing practices, eighteenth century literature, Carl Carlsson [Carleson], Edvard Carlsson [Carleson], Olof Dalin [von Dalin], Carl Christoffer Gjörwell, Catharina Ahlgren, coffee houses in Stockholm, handwritten newspapers, Eva Insenstierna
The thesis deals with the early press of 'moral weeklies' in Sweden during the period 1730 to 1773, focussing on media technological conditions and the uses of the epistolary form. This genre, which initially followed the pattern of the English Spectator, emerged in the 1730s with nine journals produced in Stockholm. These were the first periodicals in Sweden that aimed to entertain as well as instruct. The study begins with the aim of finding explanations for their sudden emergence, by looking into the cultural and technological conditions of the period; such as printing, distribution, censorship practices, and potential audiences (chapters 3–6). The fall of autocracy and the rise of an early parlamentarianism provided the background. Stockholm attracted printers and book dealers, and a new generation of literati made careers in the state administration. Among these were several of the journals’ editors, as well as potential readers. In the next part (chapters 7–8), the extensive and varied use of the epistolary form in these weeklies is analysed, as serving different purposes. A closer examination and interpretation is made of the epistolary material in Sedolärande Mercurius [Didactic Mercury](1730-1731), edited by Carl and Edvard Carlsson, and Then Swänska Argus [The Swedish Argus] (1732-1734), edited by Olof Dalin. In Sedolärande Mercurius a number of letters explore the theme of problems with foreign trade; and in Then Swänska Argus satires in epistolary form paint a picture of ideas from abroad posing a threat to social life, and especially to married life.
The last part (chapters 9–10) follows these trends further in time, by looking into the uses of the epistolary form in a couple of journals in the latter half of the 18th century:Bref Om Blandade Ämnen [Letters about a variety of subjects] (1754), edited by Carl Christoffer Gjörwell; and Brefwäxling [Letter Exchange](1772–1773) by Catharina Ahlgren. Brefwäxling in particular differs substantially from the journals in the 1730s, a fact that is discussed in terms of a transition from oral culture to a more literary one, new trends in epistolary rhetoric, and the gender of the narrator. The methods used in the study are archival research and textual analysis.
Keywords: Sedolärande Mercurius, Then Swänska Argus, Bref Om Blandade Ämnen, Brefwäxling, early periodicals, Spectator-genre, moral weeklies, epistolary form, letters to the editor, letter writing practices, eighteenth century literature, Carl Carlsson [Carleson], Edvard Carlsson [Carleson], Olof Dalin [von Dalin], Carl Christoffer Gjörwell, Catharina Ahlgren, coffee houses in Stockholm, handwritten newspapers, Eva Insenstierna
Papers in Peer-reviewed Academic Journals by Tilda Maria Forselius
Book Chapters by Tilda Maria Forselius
Book Reviews by Tilda Maria Forselius
Conference Proceedings by Tilda Maria Forselius