Charlie Chaplin’s Little Tramp in America, 1947–77

Lisa Stein Haven is Associate Professor of English at Ohio University Zanesville, USA. She specializes in 20th Century British and American literature and silent film comedy. Her last book A Comedian Sees the World, an edition of Charlie Chaplin’s 1934 travelogue, has been translated into five languages.

• Preface.- .Introduction: The Death of the Little Tramp and Chaplin in the Aftermath.- .Chapter 1:  Bohemian Writers and the Resurrection of the Little Tramp.- .Chapter 2:  The Beat Chaplinists.- .Chapter 3:  Seeing Charlie: Legal and Illegal Chaplin Screenings.- .Chapter 4:  Narrativizing Charlie in Print and Film.- .Chapter 5:  Selling Charlie.- .Epilogue:  The Little Tramp’s Continuing Longevity, post-1977.

“This volume is a historiographic examination of how the Little Tramp was perceived during this period. The ways in which Chaplin was identified between 1947 and 1977–a time of living memory for some–underpin how the artist and his Tramp are interpreted today and will be in the future. A thoughtful and engaging study, Haven’s book fills a major gap in our understanding of Charlie Chaplin and his art.” (Frank Milo Scheide, Modern Language Review, Vol. 113 (2), April, 2018)“Lisa Stein Haven has worked to build community among Chaplin descendants, researchers, and enthusiasts in the twenty-first century as she tries to understand the rise and fall of celebrity and what the process reveals about American culture. Her book is thorough, impeccably researched, and accessibly written. It picks up where many studies of Chaplin leave off, shedding light on one of America’s best-known movie personalities and the iconic, much-loved character that he portrayed.” (Kathy Merlock Jackson, The Journal of American Culture, Vol. 40 (4), December, 2017)