The Arbiters of Reality

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Exploring the intersection of literature and the emerging information industry, this work analyzes how Nathaniel Hawthorne and Herman Melville employed various storytelling strategies influenced by telegraphic and penny press journalism, as well as visual media like daguerreotypy and moving panoramas. Peter West illustrates how these authors sought to establish a unique perspective on reality that transcended the limitations of the growing mass audience, thereby redefining critical understanding of their contributions to nineteenth-century American literature.