Andrew Marvell: The Chameleon - Hardcover

Smith, Nigel

3.53

15 ratings by Goodreads

9780300112214: Andrew Marvell: The Chameleon

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0300112211 ISBN 13: 9780300112214

Publisher: Yale University Press, 2010

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The seventeenth-century poet Andrew Marvell (1621–1678) is one of the most intriguing figures in English literature. A noted civil servant under Cromwell’s Protectorate, he has been variously identified as a patriot, spy, conspirator, concealed homosexual, father to the liberal tradition, and incendiary satirical pamphleteer and freethinker. But while Marvell’s poetry and prose has attracted a wide modern following, his prose is known only to specialists, and much of his personal life remains shrouded in mystery.

Nigel Smith’s pivotal biography provides an unparalleled look into Marvell’s life, from his early employment as a tutor and gentleman’s companion to his suspicious death, reputedly a politically fueled poisoning. Drawing on exhaustive archival research, the voluminous corpus of Marvell’s previously little known writing, and recent scholarship across several disciplines, Smith’s portrait becomes the definitive account of this elusive life.

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About the Author:

Nigel Smith is professor of English and codirector of the Center for the Study of Books and Media at Princeton University.

Review:

"Superlative. . . . The fullest portrait we have to date."—David Yezzi, The Wall Street Journal
(David Yezzi The Wall Street Journal)

"Nigel Smith. . . has certainly mastered everything that can be learned about this elusive, shadowy and very private man."—Michael Dirda, The Washington Post
(Michael Dirda The Washington Post)

"Smith asks the right questions about Marvell's life and time, and he works assiduously in helping to lay 'a new foundation of the documentary knowledge.' . . . [A] worthy biography."—Megan Buskey, The New York Times Book Review (Megan Buskey The New York Times Book Review)

"He offers the fullest available account of Marvell's political activities, fully contextualized. . . . [An] indispensible guide."—Paul Dean, The New Criterion (Paul Dean The New Criterion)

"Nigel Smith attends skillfully to the poetry, but he also provides extensive information about the period as well as the complicated development of Marvell's political and religious views. . . . [Smith's] is probably the most complete biography of Marvell we are likely to see."—Jerome Donnelly, America (Jerome Donnelly America)

"Smith makes an excellent case for the enduring power of Marvell's occasional poems and satires."—Adam Kirsch, Barnes and Noble Review
(Adam Kirsch Barnes and Noble Review)

"[A] worthy biography."—Megan Buskey, The New York Times Book Review
(Megan Buskey The New York Times Book Review)

"[An] exhaustive, shrewd, wary new biography...Thepoet as craft chameleon in Smith's smart and resonant readings is also the poet as skulking, threatened double agent."—Robert Polito, Bookforum (Robert Polito Bookforum)

"It is an achievment of astonishing depth and equally impressive scope, covering a fascinating, complex period of English history. The book is must reading for early modern scholars."—M. Cole, CHOICE (M. Cole CHOICE)

"Meticulously researched and scholarly in tone, this noteworthy study provides a suitable balance of historical context and literary criticism. Strongly recommended for students and general readers of 17th-century English literature and history."—Brian Odom, Library Journal (Brian Odom Library Journal)

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