How does the emergence of the modern novel intersect with the development of global cartography and the spatial representation of the world? Eric Bulson, a scholar of modern literature, investigates the formal and thematic relationship between the rise of the novel and the proliferation of maps in the early twentieth century. He argues that novelists utilized cartographic techniques to organize narrative space, effectively mapping the complexities of modernity through literary form. By examining the works of canonical modernists, the author demonstrates how the map became a crucial tool for writers attempting to visualize and navigate the shifting boundaries of the modern era.

Scholars frequently cite this work as a significant contribution to the study of spatiality in modernist literature. Experts highlight the text for its rigorous synthesis of literary history and the history of science, noting its dense, academic prose style.