CURIOSITIES OF LITERATURE

John Sutherland

ISBN 10: 190521197X / ISBN 13: 9781905211975

Published by Random House Books, London, 2008

About this Item

CURIOSITIES OF LITERATURE. John Sutherland. Illustrated by Martin Rowson. Random House Publishing, London 2008 First Edition ISBN 9781905211975 290pp Illustrated Hardback. This mint unread copy is bound in cloth covered boards with bright gilt titling to the spine. The unclipped dust wrapper is also in mint condition. How much heavier was Thackeray's brain than Walt Whitman's? Which novels do American soldiers read? When did cigarettes start making an appearance in English literature? And, while we're about it, who wrote the first Western, is there any link between asthma and literary genius, and what really happened on Dorothea's wedding night in Middlemarch? In Curiosities of Literature, John Sutherland contemplates the full import of questions such as these, and attempts a few answers in a series of essays that are both witty and eclectic. His approach is also unashamedly discursive. An account of the fast-working Mickey Spillane, for example, leads to a consideration of the substances, both legal and illegal, that authors have employed to boost their creative energies. An essay on good and bad handwriting points out in passing that Thackeray could write the Lord's Prayer on the back of a stamp. As for Mary Shelley, a brief recital of the circumstances in which she wrote Frankenstein stops off to consider what impact the miserable summer weather of 1816 had on the future path of English literature. Of course, it is debatable whether knowledge of these arcane topics adds to the wisdom of nations, but it does highlight the random pleasures to be found in reading literature and reading about it. As John Sutherland rightly asks, 'Why else read?' Ref KK2. Seller Inventory # 012203

Bibliographic Details

Title: CURIOSITIES OF LITERATURE

Publisher: Random House Books, London

Publication Date: 2008

Binding: Hardback

Illustrator: Martin Rowson

Condition: Mint

Dust Jacket Condition: Mint

Edition: First Edition

About this title

Synopsis:

A witty and eclectic tour of some of the more arcane byways of literature. Illustrated throughout.

How much heavier was Thackeray’s brain than Walt Whitman’s? Which novels do American soldiers read? When did cigarettes start making an appearance in English literature?

In Curiosities of Literature, John Sutherland contemplates the full import of questions such as these, and attempts a few answers in a series of essays that are both witty and eclectic. An account of the fast-working Mickey Spillane, for example, leads to a consideration of the substances, both legal and illegal, that authors have employed to boost their creative energies. An essay on good and bad handwriting points out in passing that Thackeray could write the Lord’s Prayer on the back of a stamp. As for Mary Shelley, a brief recital of the circumstances in which she wrote Frankenstein stops off to consider what impact the miserable summer weather of 1816 had on the future path of English literature.

It’s debatable, of course, whether knowledge of these arcane topics adds to the wisdom of nations. It does highlight the random pleasures in reading literature and reading about it.

As John Sutherland rightly asks, “Why else read?”

About the Author:

John Sutherland currently teaches literature at the California Institute of Technology and is Emeritus Lord Northcliffe Professor at University College London.