Sidetracks : Explorations of a Romantic Biographer
Holmes, Richard
Sold by Concordia Books, Rensselaer Falls, NY, U.S.A.
AbeBooks Seller since July 16, 2001
Used - Hardcover
Condition: Used - Very good
Quantity: 1 available
Add to basketSold by Concordia Books, Rensselaer Falls, NY, U.S.A.
AbeBooks Seller since July 16, 2001
Condition: Used - Very good
Quantity: 1 available
Add to basketxi, 420 pp., index; very good,clean copy, tight binding.
Seller Inventory # 014577
Wishful thinking? Not in the least. Sidetracks does indeed lead the author all over the map, from Thomas Chatterton to Felix Nadar, Mary Wollstonecraft to F. Scott Fitzgerald, not to mention that superlative Regency swinger Scrope Berdmore Davies. But Holmes's continuing preoccupation with the biographical arts gives the book a real unity, and makes it required reading for any aspiring Boswell. His professional tips are invariably on the nose: "Empathy is the most powerful, the most necessary, and the most deceptive, of all biographical emotions." His critical judgments are no less acute, whether he's discussing Shelley's "quality of verbal helium" or the "intellectual physiognomy" of Voltaire's grin. Still, the best lessons here (and the purest pleasures) are supplied by Holmes's own sympathetic magic, which can bring so nondescript a figure as John Stuart Mill to vivid life:
His face was small, dry and circumstantial, deeply lined from early age, nose chiselled out and lips hydraulically compressed and narrow, the mouth drawn down at the corners by the imponderable weights of Utility.... The right eye never stood still at all: there was a permanent, perceptible twitch flickering the lid and eyebrow like a heliograph; and above it, strangest of all, a large inexplicable bump, a sort of dome, as if something alien had taken up occupation.The best biographers are necessarily revisionists, and even in these short pieces Richard Holmes comes up with some startling interpretations. He argues, for example, that Chatterton's suicidal dose of arsenic was in fact an accident. What stays with the reader, however, are the fascinating and sometimes eerie intersections of past and present, life and art. It's enough to make you wonder whether biographers ultimately choose their subjects, or vice versa--and Sidetracks, in any case, suggests not six but at least a dozen characters in search of an author. --James Marcus
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
All books can be returned for full refund of purchase price within 30 days only if they are not as described. All books are sent US Postal Service Media Mail unless requested otherwise. Overseas shipments are sent Economy letter mail or in some instances Global Priority mail can be requested. Please email us for specific mailing costs for overseas. There is a shipping and handling charge of $2.50 over cost for overseas shipping.
Shipping costs are based on books weighing 2.2 LB, or 1 KG. If your book order is heavy or oversized, we may contact you to let you know extra shipping is required.
Order quantity | 5 to 14 business days | 3 to 6 business days |
---|---|---|
First item | US$ 6.50 | US$ 13.50 |
Delivery times are set by sellers and vary by carrier and location. Orders passing through Customs may face delays and buyers are responsible for any associated duties or fees. Sellers may contact you regarding additional charges to cover any increased costs to ship your items.