This groundbreaking volume is the first to define the emergent field of transatlantic literary studies. It brings together a wide range of material to explore the theoretical and literary possibilities of the transatlantic world as an arena for textual and intellectual exchange. In their introduction, the editors suggest ways in which the transatlantic paradigm offers renewed potential for literary study that for too long has been tied to the ideological and political requirements of the nation-state. The Reader provides accessible, annotated examples of theoretical frameworks that provoke further scholarly inquiry and important works of literary criticism that demonstrate different possibilities of comparative analysis. This important compilation represents and promotes the conceptualization of American culture within the broader context of transatlantic activity.