Introduction

The principal aim of this collection of articles is to explore the evolving generic patterns and the modes of transnational distribution of popular narrative over the course of the nineteenth century. This volume addresses networks of reception drawn around cities as diverse as Constantinople, Moscow, and Tokyo, with a focus on peripheries in South and West Asia, and Northern as well as Eastern Europe; in generic terms, there are specific investigations of shipwreck narratives, satirical cartoons, press reports, orally transmitted folklore, traditional sacred tales, and adventure novels. It combines the materialist approach of book/media history with the aesthetic insights of literary and cultural studies, drawing inspiration from the seminal work of scholars such as Benedict Anderson, Franco Moretti, Pascale Casanova, and Arjun Appadurai.