Title: The rise and fall of the man of letters: Aspects of English literary life since 1800
Abstract: In this new edition of his landmark book, John Gross traces shifting fortunes of men who shaped literary opinion in England during Victorian, Edwardian, and contemporary eras. He brings together famous or forgotten critics and editors-prophets, aesthetes, statesmen, dons, radicals, social climbers, idealists, gossipmongers, and literary lions-and explores not only their critical ideas but also their personalities, careers, social backgrounds, and politics. He looks at the higher journalism; expansion of reading public, byways of British liberalism, and rise of literature as an academic subject, and impact of modernism. In all a remarkable survey, to which Mr. Gross has now added updates on several literary careers, new style of critics who have evolved from universities, and dominant role of media. A brilliant account of English literary culture which is as engaging as it is illuminating-Lionel Trilling. Extremely readable...The book is strewn with marvelous bits: deft apercus, biographical portraits of great subtlety and force, wit, commonsensical intelligence everywhere. It is a book that no one who cares about state of literature can afford to neglect.-Joseph Epstein.
Publication Year: 1969
Publication Date: 1969-01-01
Language: en
Type: book
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Cited By Count: 64
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