Author: Abigail Williams

Reading It Wrong is a new history of 18th-century English literature that explores what has been everywhere evident but rarely talked about: the misunderstanding, muddle and confusion of readers of the past when they first met the uniquely elusive writings of the period. 

Abigail Williams uses the marginal marks and jottings of these readers to show that flawed interpretation has its own history in understanding how, why and what we read. 

Reading It Wrong tells how a combination of changing readerships and fantastically tricky literature created the perfect grounds for puzzlement and partial comprehension.