Discerning Characters: The Culture of Appearance in Early America (Early American Studies)
"Discerning Characterssets a new benchmark for literary, cultural, and intellectual historians intent on situating texts in a material and visual context."— Catherine E. Kelly, University of Oklahoma"A deeply researched, intelligent, and innovative look at the literary and cultural history of early America."— Philip Gould, Brown University“While avowedly interdisciplinary in scope and ambition, Discerning Characters is the rare book that actually combines the achievements of more than one discipline. The result is a work that manages to be a model of interdisciplinary method while mapping ground unaccounted for in the multiple disciplines to which it speaks” —  Eighteenth-Century Fiction“Lukasik's book is a must-read for all those interested in early American manners and portraits as well as early American novels.”— Journal of American History“Lukasik’s insightful close reading of the literature is well informed by extensive research in the wider print culture of the period. His study offers new perspectives on the novels, perspectives that are compelling and convincing enough to demand attention within future examinations of these authors’ work, and more widely in the literature of the period.”— Journal of American Studies“A book of both subtlety and ambitious scope” which adds “to our understanding of the visual in American history” — Common-Place“An important contribution to studies of early American gentility and the history of class formation”  — The History Teacher