Larry McMurtry and the Victorian Novel (Volume 5) (Tarleton State University Southwestern Studies in the Humanities) - Hardcover

Jones, Roger Walton

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0890966214 ISBN 13: 9780890966211

Publisher: Texas A&M University Press, 1994

Synopsis

Millions have read Larry McMurtry's novel, though few conciously understand the subtle underlying themes that charachterize his fiction.

Roger Walton Jones examines McMurtry's lifelong interest in Victorian authors and their influence on his novels. Emphasizing the common sense of dislacement McMurtry shared with the Victorians, Jones identifies three Victoria themes by which McMurtry reconciles the reader to experience and gives his art a religious function: the individual's importance to society; the conflict between civilization and nature in an industrial age; and the attempt to find a basis for spirituality in a world without God or faith in organized religion.

Jones explores these themes as they are played out in all of McMurtry's fiction, paying particular attention to The Last Pciture Show and Lonesome Dove. Unpublished letters and an early, unpublished short story shed light on the interpretation.

In this thought-provoking anaylsis, Jones helps correct the injustice done McMurtry when his work has been ignored or treated with condescension by literary critics charmed by the convolutions of postermodernism. Readers of McMurtry's work, as well as students of Victorian literature, will find Jones's treatment stimulating, insightful, and perhaps unexpectedly positive and will benefit from seeing a new moral and spiritual dimension in the work of one of the most intersting contemporary American authors.

ROGER WALTON JONES received his MA from Southern Illinois University and his PhD from Texas A&M University. He specializes in modern American and British Victorian literature and has written numerous short stories. He is the division chair of the Humanities & Social/Behaviorial Science department at Ranger College and has served as director of the Academic Honors Program.

About this title

From the Back Cover:

Although millions have read Larry McMurtry's novels, few really understand the subtle underlying themes that characterize his fiction. In this intriguing study of the popular author, Roger Walton Jones examines McMurtry's lifelong interest in Victorian authors and their influence on his novels. Emphasizing the common sense of displacement McMurtry shared with the Victorians, Jones identifies three Victorian themes by which McMurtry reconciles the reader to experience and gives his art a religious function: the individual's importance to society, the conflict between civilization and nature in an industrial age, and the attempt to find a basis for spirituality in a world without God or faith in organized religion. Jones explores these themes as they are played out in all of McMurtry's fiction, paying particular attention to The Last Picture Show and Lonesome Dove. Unpublished letters and an early, unpublished short story shed light on the interpretation. For example, Jones traces the way McMurtry's early alienation from his hometown, Archer City, determined the style of The Last Picture Show, and he identifies a telling moment when McMurtry overcame past tensions and found a balance between society and the individual. In this thought-provoking analysis, Jones helps correct the injustice done McMurtry when his work has been ignored or treated with condescension by literary critics charmed by the convolutions of postmodernism. Readers seeking a fuller understanding of McMurtry and his fiction, as well as students of Victorian literature, will find Jones's treatment stimulating, insightful, and perhaps unexpectedly positive and will benefit from seeing a new moral and spiritual dimension inthe work of one of the most interesting contemporary authors.

About the Author:

Roger Walton is currently an instructor of English and director of the Academic Honors Program at Ranger College.

About this edition

• Publisher: Texas A&M University Press
• Publication date: 1994
• ISBN 10: 0890966214
• ISBN 13: 9780890966211
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 112