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Show of Utah, 1969). As an example of an approach to such studies, Lythgoe assesses the influence of national p e r i o d i c a l s , then s e l e c t s six topics concerning the Mormons that drew national attent i o n and were widely w r i t t e n about to be used as examples of the change in image over a given time period. His topics, which become chapter headings for the d i s s e r t a t i o n , are Polygamy, P o l i t i c s, Business, Culture and Development, Intellectualism and Social Change, and "George Romney: Mormon Presidential Candidate." Two doctoral d i s s e r t a t i o n s can also be cited as studies of f i c t i o n a l writing concerning the Mormons: Cassie Hyde Hock, "The Mormons in Fiction" (University of Colorado, 1941); and Kenneth B. Hunsaker, "The Twentieth Century Mormon Novel" (Pennsylvania State University, 1968). The f i r s t novel that concerned i t s e l f with the Mormon theme appeared before the death of Joseph Smith, and f i c t i o n a l accounts have continued at an accelerated pace to the present. William Mulder suggested in "Mormonism and Literature" (Western Humanities Review, Winter, 1954-55), that "The burden of creating a Mormon l i t e r a t u r e rests as heavily on the reader as on the w r i t e r . " The more l i t e r a t e the people, the better l i t e r a t u re t h e i r t a s t e s will require. The non-fiction written during the Joseph Smith period, 1830-1844, may be divided roughly into four categories: (1) Doctrinal m a t e r i a l s , (2) periodicals published by Mormons, (3) descriptive and explanatory materials written and published by Mormons largely for non-member consumption, and (4) materials written by non-members reacting to, and c r i t i c i z i n g materials written by, the Mormons. The |