William Empson was the foremost English literary critic of the twentieth century. He was a man of huge energy and curiosity, and a genuine eccentric who remained imperturbable in the face of all the extraordinary circumstances in which he found himself. The discovery of contraceptives in his possession by a bedmaker at Cambridge University led to his being robbed of a promised Fellowship. Yet Seven Types of Ambiguity, drafted while he was still an undergraduate, promptly brought him world-wide f...
Few writers have had a greater impact upon British society than Charles Dickens. His stories, and, in particular, his many memorable characters, highlighted the life of the forgotten poor and disadvantaged within society at a time when Britain was the leading economic and political power in the world. Dickens' portrayal of the poor, such as Oliver Twist daring to ask for more food in the parish workhouse, and Bob Cratchit struggling to provide for his family at Christmas, roused much sympathy a...
Bruce Chatwin's death in 1989 brought a meteoric career to an abrupt end, since he burst onto the literary scene in 1977 with his first book, In Patagonia.Chatwin himself was different things to different people: a journalist, a photographer, an art collector, a restless traveller and a bestselling author; he was also a married man, an active homosexual, a socialite who loved to mix with the rich and famous, and a single-minded loner who explored the limits of extreme solitude.From unrestricted...
The Education of Henry Adams (Modern Library) (Modern Library 100 Best Nonfiction Books)
by Henry Adams
Adams was a historian, an intellectual born into the fourth generation of a family of distinguished politicians, diplomats and statesmen that included two presidents of the United States. His "Education" is thus steeped in history, that of his family and of the American politics, culture and identity they helped to shape. At the same time he elaborates his own 'dynamic theory of history' as the product of what he calls the conflict between the Virgin and the Dynamo: 'All the steam in the world c...
This study charts the stormy emotions of the friendship between Oscar Wilde and Andre Gide, whom he met in Paris in 1891. Through letters and diaries, Fryer looks at the men's lives through the eyes of their mothers, their wives and their boyfriends, The book is not just a chronicle of a cross-channel literary relationship, it also provides an insight into what W.H.Auden would much later call the "Homintern" - an international network of gay men and their companions, as well as the hypocracy of...
`Riveting, tragic tale’ New Yorker `Anna Pasternak has produced an irresistible account of joy, suffering and passion’ Financial Times The heartbreaking story of the passionate love affair between Boris Pasternak and Olga Ivinskaya – the tragic true story that inspired Doctor Zhivago. Doctor Zhivago has sold in its millions yet the true love story that inspired it has never been fully explored. Pasternak would often say `Lara exists, go and m...
Something about the Author, Volume 251 (Something about the Author, #251)
In her groundbreaking book The Right to Write, Julia Cameron dismantled the mythology surrounding the writing life in our culture. Tackling issues such as time, mood, inspiration, and support, she revealed that writing is in fact a natural-and crucial-part of life. Questions of how, when, and why yielded to the virtual tool kit of strategies, tips, and tools she provides in this extremely valuable book. With The Writer's Life, Cameron's pivotal insights and pointers are distilled in a tiny, po...
Recent American Drama - American Writers 7: University of Minnesota Pamphlets on American Writers
by Alan Downer
