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Leon Edel has recently noted that "there exists, I am sorry to say, no criticism of biography worthy of the name. Reviewers and critics have learned how to judge plays, poems, novels―but they reveal their helplessness in the face of a biography." The Biographer's Art, by concentrating on the aesthetics of the genre, responds to the need for serious criticism of life-writing.
This book is both a history of the genre and a substantial analysis of the great literary biographies from Johnson's Life of Savage (1744) and Boswell's Life of Johnson (1791) through Strachey's Eminent Victorians (1918) and Symons' The Quest for Corvo (1934) to the three greatest biographies of the mid-twentieth century: Ellmann's James Joyce (1959), Painter's Marcel Proust (1959, 1965), and Edel's monumental Henry James (1953-72). The masterful biographies by Ellmann, Painter, and Edel, that continue the tradition begun by Johnson and Boswell and show the influence of Strachey's innovative work, confirm that biography is still a flourishing art form. By firing the facts of an author's life with their own imagination, illuminating the relationship between daily existence and imaginative life, these life-writers follow the same process as fiction writers and create their own significant works of art.
This book is both a history of the genre and a substantial analysis of the great literary biographies from Johnson's Life of Savage (1744) and Boswell's Life of Johnson (1791) through Strachey's Eminent Victorians (1918) and Symons' The Quest for Corvo (1934) to the three greatest biographies of the mid-twentieth century: Ellmann's James Joyce (1959), Painter's Marcel Proust (1959, 1965), and Edel's monumental Henry James (1953-72). The masterful biographies by Ellmann, Painter, and Edel, that continue the tradition begun by Johnson and Boswell and show the influence of Strachey's innovative work, confirm that biography is still a flourishing art form. By firing the facts of an author's life with their own imagination, illuminating the relationship between daily existence and imaginative life, these life-writers follow the same process as fiction writers and create their own significant works of art.
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About the Author:
Jeffrey Meyers is the author of highly acclaimed biographies of Katherine Mansfield, Wyndham Lewis and Ernest Hemingway as well as many works of literary criticism.
Review:
Serves most usefully to introduce readers to the perils and possibilities of life-writing. (CHOICE)
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- PublisherNew Amsterdam Books
- Publication date1989
- ISBN 10 0941533522
- ISBN 13 9780941533522
- BindingHardcover
- Number of pages288
- EditorMeyers Jeffrey
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Biographers Art
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Book Description Condition: New. This history of the art of biography and case-by-case analysis of some of the great literary biographies, from Johnson's Life of Savage (1744) to Edel's monumental Henry James (1953-1972), confirms the idea that life-writing is a flourishing art form. Editor(s): Meyers, Jeffrey. Num Pages: 288 pages. BIC Classification: GB. Category: (G) General (US: Trade). Dimension: 224 x 148 x 18. Weight in Grams: 390. . 1989. Hardback. . . . . Seller Inventory # V9780941533522
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Biographers Art
Published by
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ISBN 13: 9780941533522
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Book Description Condition: New. This history of the art of biography and case-by-case analysis of some of the great literary biographies, from Johnson's Life of Savage (1744) to Edel's monumental Henry James (1953-1972), confirms the idea that life-writing is a flourishing art form. Editor(s): Meyers, Jeffrey. Num Pages: 288 pages. BIC Classification: GB. Category: (G) General (US: Trade). Dimension: 224 x 148 x 18. Weight in Grams: 390. . 1989. Hardback. . . . . Books ship from the US and Ireland. Seller Inventory # V9780941533522
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Book Description Hardcover. Condition: new. Hardcover. This history of the art of biography and case-by-case analysis of some of the great literary biographies, from Johnson's Life of Savage (1744) to Edel's monumental Henry James (1953-1972), confirms the idea that life-writing is a flourishing art form. This history of the art of biography and case-by-case analysis of some of the great literary biographies, from Johnson's Life of Savage (1744) to Edel's monumental Henry James (1953-1972), confirms the idea that life-writing is a flourishing art form. Shipping may be from our UK warehouse or from our Australian or US warehouses, depending on stock availability. Seller Inventory # 9780941533522
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