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"The great virtue of McCormick's memoirs is their blunt honesty. He writes with a persuasive directness about what happened to him and what he believes..."--Arts and Letters The title of John McCormick's autobiographical book, may be taken both literally and symbolically. In a literal sense, going to sea was an early and powerful ambition, while seagoing is also a metaphor for the twists and turns in a rootless life, a long voyaging. This is not a conventional autobiography. It is personal only as necessary for continuity, and never confessional. The essays center upon telling episodes in the author's life and strive for objectivity and accuracy about the recent past, both personal and historical. He does so, as he writes, without "any pretension of producing a true history." The events of his life are necessarily unique to him, thus he finds uniqueness in the events that impinged upon him. McCormick begins with his early years, growing up in the American mid-West during the Depression, a time of broken family relations and random jobs. He relates his falling away from religious faith. He describes his first experience as a sailor in a tanker, which gave him physical liberation, a world free of constrictions, as with Hemingway. In discussing his early teaching experience, he gives a vivid portrayal of Germany in the immediate postwar years, along with observations of residual pro-Hitler sentiment and the awkward circumstances (for Germans) of the immediate past. He devotes a chapter to a moving memoir of his friend Francis Fergusson, eminent Rutgers University scholar. McCormick also relates his experience as an amateur bullfighter and reiterates his defense of bullfighting as an art. He paints a vivid picture of an adventure at sea while working on a definitive biography of George Santayana, reflecting also on changes in the genre of biography, with its prevailing emphasis on trivia and sensationalism. In describing his retirement to England, McCormick describes the conflict between nationalism and expatriation. He punctuates details of his naval war experiences with thoughtful observations on military combat. Finally, in his closing chapter, "Coda: Closet Space," McCormick attempts to make sense of old age and death. This autobiographical account of a well-lived life encompasses far more than a splendid teaching and literary career. It will provide insight and good reading for those who know McCormick's scholarly work, for students of the humanities, and for the general public interested in vivid prose. John McCormick is professor emeritus of comparative literature at Rutgers University, and honorary fellow of English and literature at the University of York. He is the author of George Santayana: A Biography, Catastrophe and Imagination, The Middle Distance, and Fiction as Knowledge.
Daphne du Maurier's correspondence with Oriel Malet began in the early 1950s, after they met at a cocktail party in London. At least twenty years separated them: Oriel was a gauche young writer while Daphne was the famous, much-feted author of bestselling novels including Jamaica Inn, My Cousin Rachel, and Rebecca. The friendship flourished for thirty years, fed by the letters that arrived faithfully from Menabilly, the du Maurier house in Cornwall. While Oriel tasted life on a houseboat on the Seine and mixed with the aristocratic Who's Who of Paris, Daphne's letters tell of her family, past and present, her marriage to General Sir Frederick Browning-a war hero known privately as 'Moper' whose fits of melancholy caused many a crisis at Menabilly-and events like Prince Philip coming for dinner: 'We've got only four knives with handles, and one silver candlestick must be glued!' Most of all, her letters are a valuable record of the complex and rigorous art of a fine and well-loved writer: the 'brewing' of a plot, the research, and the 'pegging' of secret fantasies onto a living person in order to create classical characters such as Cousin Rachel and Roger Kylmerth. Disarmingly frank about sex, an earnest seeker after spiritual and psychological truth, Daphne du Maurier is revealed in her letters as an inspiring and delightful correspondent-as well as a once-in-a-lifetime friend.
Modern biographies of William Shakespeare abound; however, close scrutiny of the surviving records clearly show that there is insufficient material for a cradle to grave account of his life, that most of what is written about him cannot be verified from primary sources, and that Shakespearean biography did not attain scholarly or academic respectability until long after Samuel Schoenbaum published William Shakespeare A Documentary Life in 1975. This study begins with a short survey of the history and practice of biography and then surveys the very limited biographical material for Shakespeare. Although Shakespeare gradually attained the status as a national hero during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, there were no serious attempts to reconstruct his life. Any attempt at an account of his life or personality amounts, however, merely to "biografiction". Modern biographers differ sharply on Shakespeare's apparent relationships with Southampton and with Jonson, which merely underlines the fact that the documentary record has to be greatly expanded through contextual description and speculation in order to appear like a Life of Shakespeare.
Memoirs of Casanova (1792) is the autobiography of Italian adventure and socialite Giacomo Casanova. Written at the end of his life, the Memoirs capture the experiences of one of Europe's most notorious figures, a man whose escapades as a gambler, womanizer, and socialite are matched only by his unique gift for sharing them with the world. More than perhaps any other man, Casanova sought to emulate the lessons of the Enlightenment on the level of everyday life, a sentiment captured perfectly in the opening sentence of his Memoirs: "I will begin with this confession: whatever I have done in the course of my life, whether it be good or evil, has been done freely; I am a free agent." Memoirs of Casanova Volume X finds Giacomo Casanova in grave danger, perhaps the most serious of his life. Having fallen into the trap of Manucci, a spy for the state, Casanova is arrested and sentenced without trial to five years imprisonment. Held in the infamous Leads, the prison under the Doge's Palace, he suffers in solitary confinement through unbearable heat, overwhelming darkness, and an infestation of fleas. After months in this cell, he is moved from solitary confinement, given better clothes and accommodations, and allowed to go outside for brief, supervised walks. Seeing an opportunity, Casanova begins planning his escape, collecting tools and conspiring with a fellow prisoner in order to achieve his freedom. When the day arrives, and after several aborted attempts, he seizes his only chance. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Giacomo Casanova's Memoirs of Casanova is a classic of European literature reimagined for modern readers.
"One is not born a woman, but becomes one", Simone de Beauvoir A symbol of liberated womanhood, Simone de Beauvoir's unconventional relationships inspired and scandalised her generation. A philosopher, writer, and feminist icon, she won prestigious literary prizes and transformed the way we think about gender with The Second Sex. But despite her successes, she wondered if she had sold herself short. Her liaison with Jean-Paul Sartre has been billed as one of the most legendary love affairs of the twentieth century. But for Beauvoir it came at a cost: for decades she was dismissed as an unoriginal thinker who 'applied' Sartre's ideas. In recent years new material has come to light revealing the ingenuity of Beauvoir's own philosophy and the importance of other lovers in her life. This ground-breaking biography draws on never-before-published diaries and letters to tell the fascinating story of how Simone de Beauvoir became herself.
A E Housmans poetry (especially A Shropshire Lad) remains well-known, widely read and often quoted. However, Housman did not view himself as a professional poet, always making quite clear that his proper job was as a Professor of Latin. Housmans fame as a poet has often obscured the fact that he was the leading British classical scholar of his generation, and a Cambridge Professor. It has also sometimes been suggested that Housmans two areas of activity are the sign of a flawed or divided personality. This book argues that there is no fundamental tension between Housman the poet and Housman the scholar, and his career is presented very much as that of a working academic who also wrote poetry. The book gives a full account of what Housman described as the great and real troubles of my early manhood, and in particular his unrequited and life-long love for his undergraduate friend Moses Jackson. It resists the temptation to classify Housman too exclusively as a melancholic, and is sceptical about Housmans reputed rudeness and misanthropy, pointing out that, though Housman was famously aloof in manner, he was notably loyal and generous, courteous in his daily dealings and generally liked by those who knew him. He also possessed a highly developed sense of the absurd and a ready and often disconcerting wit, features which characterised not only his letters and miscellaneous writings, but also, famously, much of his scholarly work.
Memoirs of Casanova (1792) is the autobiography of Italian adventure and socialite Giacomo Casanova. Written at the end of his life, the Memoirs capture the experiences of one of Europe's most notorious figures, a man whose escapades as a gambler, womanizer, and socialite are matched only by his unique gift for sharing them with the world. More than perhaps any other man, Casanova sought to emulate the lessons of the Enlightenment on the level of everyday life, a sentiment captured perfectly in the opening sentence of his Memoirs: "I will begin with this confession: whatever I have done in the course of my life, whether it be good or evil, has been done freely; I am a free agent." Memoirs of Casanova Volume IV covers the young adulthood of Giacomo Casanova. As his time in Corfu draws to a close, the young Casanova revels in the final days of a heated love affair with Madame F., a beautiful noblewoman. Ending his military career, he returns to Venice and pursues the life of a professional gambler, but soon finds that his compulsiveness proves a poor match for the patience and cunning required of the craft. Desperately broke, he attempts to make a living as a violinist while continuing his fast, hedonistic lifestyle. When a chance encounter ends with him saving the life of a Venetian senator, Casanova begins several years of service under his patronage. Life as a nobleman is difficult for a young libertine, however, and as his patron's patience wears thin, Casanova looks to reinvent himself once more. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Giacomo Casanova's Memoirs of Casanova is a classic of European literature reimagined for modern readers.
In 1969, poet and revolutionary Margaret Randall was forced underground when the Mexican government cracked down on all those who took part in the 1968 student movement. Needing to leave the country, she sent her four young children alone to Cuba while she scrambled to find safe passage out of Mexico. In I Never Left Home, Randall recounts her harrowing escape and the other extraordinary stories from her life and career. From living among New York's abstract expressionists in the mid-1950s as a young woman to working in the Nicaraguan Ministry of Culture to instill revolutionary values in the media during the Sandinista movement, the story of Randall's life reads like a Hollywood production. Along the way, she edited a bilingual literary journal in Mexico City, befriended Cuban revolutionaries, raised a family, came out as a lesbian, taught college, and wrote over 150 books. Throughout it all, Randall never wavered from her devotion to social justice. When she returned to the United States in 1984 after living in Latin America for twenty-three years, the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service ordered her to be deported for her "subversive writing." Over the next five years, and with the support of writers, entertainers, and ordinary people across the country, Randall fought to regain her citizenship, which she won in court in 1989. As much as I Never Left Home is Randall's story, it is also the story of the communities of artists, writers, and radicals she belonged to. Randall brings to life scores of creative and courageous people on the front lines of creating a more just world. She also weaves political and social analyses and poetry into the narrative of her life. Moving, captivating, and astonishing, I Never Left Home is a remarkable story of a remarkable woman.
As an American comic book writer, editor, and businessman, Jim Shooter (b. 1952) remains among the most important figures in the history of the medium. Starting in 1966 at the age of fourteen, Shooter, as the young protege of verbally abusive DC editor Mort Weisinger, helped introduce themes and character development more commonly associated with DC competitor Marvel Comics. Shooter created several characters for the Legion of Super-Heroes, introduced Superman's villain the Parasite, and jointly devised the first race between the Flash and Superman. When he later ascended to editor-in-chief at Marvel Comics, the company, indeed the medium as a whole, was moribund. Yet by the time Shooter left the company a mere decade later, the industry had again achieved considerable commercial viability, with Marveldominating the market. Shooter enjoyed many successes during his tenure, such as Chris Claremont and John Byrne's run on the Uncanny X-Men, Byrne's work on the Fantastic Four, Frank Miller's Daredevil stories, Walt Simonson's crafting of Norse mythology in Thor, and Roger Stern's runs on Avengers and The Amazing Spider-Man, as well as his own successes writing Secret Wars and Secret Wars II. After a rift at Marvel, Shooter then helped lead Valiant Comics into one of the most iconic comic book companies of the 1990s, before moving to start-up companies Defiant andBroadway Comics. Interviews collected in this book span Shooter's career. Included here is a 1969 interview that shows a restless teenager; the 1973 interview that returned Shooter to comics; a discussion from 1980 during his pinnacle at Marvel; and two conversations from his time at Valiant and Defiant Comics. At the close, anextensive, original interview encompasses Shooter's full career.
Memoirs of Casanova (1792) is the autobiography of Italian adventure and socialite Giacomo Casanova. Written at the end of his life, the Memoirs capture the experiences of one of Europe's most notorious figures, a man whose escapades as a gambler, womanizer, and socialite are matched only by his unique gift for sharing them with the world. More than perhaps any other man, Casanova sought to emulate the lessons of the Enlightenment on the level of everyday life, a sentiment captured perfectly in the opening sentence of his Memoirs: "I will begin with this confession: whatever I have done in the course of my life, whether it be good or evil, has been done freely; I am a free agent."Memoirs of Casanova Volume III covers the young adulthood of Giacomo Casanova. When his religious career ends in disgrace and imprisonment, Casanova joins the Venetian military at Corfu. Following a brief sojourn in Constantinople, he enters the service of the Republic of Venice and slowly rises through the ranks to become an officer. Casanova soon grows tired of military life, however, and spends most of his time in Corfu gambling and socializing with the local elite. When he is arrested for disobedience, he begins looking for a way out of military life, and devotes much of his time to the service of Madame F., a beautiful noblewoman who enlists his services around the home. When an injury leaves her bedridden, his duties bring him closer to her than ever before, and soon threaten to turn a professional relationship into a forbidden romantic tryst. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Giacomo Casanova's Memoirs of Casanova is a classic of European literature reimagined for modern readers.
On June 23rd, 1950, Pavese, Italy's greatest modern writer received the coveted Strega Award for his novel Among Women Only. On August 26th, in a small hotel in his home town of Turin, he took his own life. Shortly before his death, he methodically destroyed all his private papers. His diary is all that remains and for this the contemporary reader can be grateful. Contemporary speculation attributed this tragedy to either an unhappy love aff air with the American film star Constance Dawling or his growing disillusionment with the Italian Communist Party. His Diaries, however, reveal a man whose art was his only means of repressing the specter of suicide which had haunted him since childhood: an obsession that finally overwhelmed him. As John Taylor notes, he possessed something much more precious than a political theory: a natural sensitivity to the plight and dignity of common people, be they bums, priests, grape-pickers, gas station attendants, office workers, or anonymous girls picked up on the street (though to women, the author could--as he admitted--be as misogynous as he was affectionate). Bitter and incisive, This Business of Living, is both moving and painful to read and stands with James Joyce's Letters and Andre Gide's Journals as one of the great literary testaments of the twentieth century.
Memoirs of Casanova (1792) is the autobiography of Italian adventure and socialite Giacomo Casanova. Written at the end of his life, the Memoirs capture the experiences of one of Europe's most notorious figures, a man whose escapades as a gambler, womanizer, and socialite are matched only by his unique gift for sharing them with the world. More than perhaps any other man, Casanova sought to emulate the lessons of the Enlightenment on the level of everyday life, a sentiment captured perfectly in the opening sentence of his Memoirs: "I will begin with this confession: whatever I have done in the course of my life, whether it be good or evil, has been done freely; I am a free agent."Memoirs of Casanova Volume VIII finds Giacomo Casanova back in Venice, his birth city. After years of disgrace and failure, he has finally begun to succeed as a professional gambler, frequenting the city's casinos and building his already-infamous reputation. Amid so much excitement, he falls for a beautiful nun, a chaste woman who shows signs of desire despite her commitment to God. As their affections turn into a heated affair, Casanova struggles to divide his public and private lives, drawing attention to himself from local authorities looking for any reason to throw him in prison for good. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Giacomo Casanova's Memoirs of Casanova is a classic of European literature reimagined for modern readers.
First published in 1968. Richard Hengist Horne, virtually unknown today, was one of the more extraordinary figures of the nineteenth century literary scene. The author of an epic poem Orion was acclaimed a work of genius by almost every English critic. His voluminous literary output is for the most part forgotten, but his life and character, his widely romantic aspirations to be a Man of Genius, provide a fascinating tragi-comic study. As a background study to the literature and society of the time, Ann Blainey's book is packed with interest and anecdote, and as a study of a remarkable man it is consistently entertaining.
Margaret Cavendish was one of the most prolific, complex and misunderstood writers of the seventeenth century. A contemporary of Descartes and Hobbes, she was fascinated by philosophical, scientific and imaginative advances, and struggled to overcome the political and cultural obstacles which threatened to stop her engagement with such discourses. Emma Rees examines how Cavendish engaged with the work of thinkers such as Lucretius, Plato, Homer and Harvey in an attempt to write her way out of the exile which threatened not only her intellectual pursuits but her very existence. What emerges is the image of an intelligent, audacious and intrepid early modern woman whose tale will appeal to specialists and general readers alike. -- .
How does the greatest writer of our time tell her own story? Immerse
yourself in the creative universe of Margaret Atwood for a riot of
life, art and everything in between
Memoirs of Casanova (1792) is the autobiography of Italian adventure and socialite Giacomo Casanova. Written at the end of his life, the Memoirs capture the experiences of one of Europe's most notorious figures, a man whose escapades as a gambler, womanizer, and socialite are matched only by his unique gift for sharing them with the world. More than perhaps any other man, Casanova sought to emulate the lessons of the Enlightenment on the level of everyday life, a sentiment captured perfectly in the opening sentence of his Memoirs: "I will begin with this confession: whatever I have done in the course of my life, whether it be good or evil, has been done freely; I am a free agent."Memoirs of Casanova Volume VI finds Giacomo Casanova living in the city of Parma, where he has fallen in love with a beautiful Frenchwoman named Henriette. Despite their deep attraction, despite Casanova's efforts to lead a respectable, law-abiding life, Henriette discovers, after three months of passion, that he is no more than a broke, low-born, violent man, and leaves him for good. Brokenhearted, filled with self-doubt, Casanova returns to Venice once more, where a successful streak in gambling gives him the funds to make his way to Paris. With renewed hope, he sets out on the legendary Grand Tour, arriving in the French capitol in 1750. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Giacomo Casanova's Memoirs of Casanova is a classic of European literature reimagined for modern readers.
The incredible autobiography from Claire Lorrimer, bestselling romance novelist and daughter of 'Queen of Romance' Denise Robins. You Never Know is former WAAF officer and bestselling novelist Claire Lorrimer's autobiography, containing a graphic description of the six years she spent doing vitally secret work as a WAAF in the Fighter Command Filter Rooms in World War Two. It is the fascinating story of a life overflowing with adventure, humour, tragedy, love, joy and disasters. Claire paints vivid images of her childhood when her mother, the famous author Denise Robins, entertained pre-and post-war literati at her weekend country house parties. Armed with an old typewriter, a vivid imagination and a passion for life, Claire started writing books during the war. She has had a remarkable career and You Never Know is the intriguing story of a long and extraordinary life.
An homage to the life of poet, writer, and teaching artist Judith Tannenbaum and her impact on incarcerated and marginalized students. The Book of Judith honors Judith Tannenbaum but also reflects, through both form and content, on the complexities of seeing both the parts and the whole. The book presents different aspects of Judith-poet, teaching artist, friend, mentor, colleague-through a collection of original poetry, prose, essay, illustration, and fiction from 33 contributors. In so doing, it echoes her own determination to perceive contradiction without judgment. For the next generation of teaching artists in Corrections and elsewhere, the book serves as an inspiration on the qualities needed to survive and thrive in a multi-faceted, ever-changing environment. The book is divided into four sections, separated by riveting black and white pencil drawings inspired by the lives of those serving life in prison without possibility of parole. In Unfinished Conversations, contributors share their bond with Judith Tannenbaum through prose and excerpts from letters both real and imagined. In the second section, After December, poets reflect on the life, artistry, and legacy of Judith. The third section, Looking and Listening, focuses on the truth-seeking qualities that Judith brought to her work. The fourth section, Legacy, features work from winners of an award and a fellowship bestowed in her name.
"A majestic literary biography, a truly new, surprisingly fresh portrait. --
Virginia Woolf, figurehead of the Bloomsbury Group and an innovative writer whose experimental style and lyrical prose ensured her position as one of the most influential of modern novelists, was also firmly anchored in the reality of the houses she lived in and those she visited regularly. Detailed and evocative accounts appear in her letters and diaries, as well as in her fiction, where they appear as backdrops or provide direct inspiration. Hilary Macaskill examines the houses that meant the most to Woolf, including: 22 Hyde Park Gate, London - where Virginia Woolf was born in 1882 Talland House, St Ives, Cornwall - the summer home of Virginia's family until 1895 46 Gordon Square, Bloomsbury, London - the birthplace of the Bloomsbury Group - Virginia lived here from 1904 to 1912 Hogarth House, Richmond, London - where the newly married Woolfs set up home and founded the Hogarth Press Asheham House, East Sussex - the summer home of the Woolfs, 1912-1919 52 Tavistock Square, London - a return to Bloomsbury, the heart of London Monk's House, Rodmell, East Sussex - where Virginia lived from 1919 until her death in 1941
In his travel narrative Travels with a Donkey in the Cevennes (1879), Robert Louis Stevenson declares, "I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move." Taking up the concepts of time, place, and memory, the contributors to this collection explore in what ways the dynamic view of life suggested by this quotation permeates Stevenson's work. The essays adopt a wide variety of critical approaches, including post-colonial theory, post-structuralism, new historicism, art history, and philosophy, making use of the vast array of literary materials that Stevenson left across a global journey that began in Scotland in 1850 and ended in Samoa in 1894. These range from travel journals, letters, and classic literary staples such as Treasure Island and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, to rarely read masterpieces such as The Master of Ballantrae or The Ebb-Tide. While much recent scholarship on Stevenson foregrounds geography, the present volume also examines the theme of movement across memory, time, and generic boundaries. Taken together, the essays offer a view of Stevenson that demonstrates how the protean nature of his literary output reflects the radical developments in science, technology, and culture that characterized the age in which he lived.
Memoirs of Casanova (1792) is the autobiography of Italian adventure and socialite Giacomo Casanova. Written at the end of his life, the Memoirs capture the experiences of one of Europe's most notorious figures, a man whose escapades as a gambler, womanizer, and socialite are matched only by his unique gift for sharing them with the world. More than perhaps any other man, Casanova sought to emulate the lessons of the Enlightenment on the level of everyday life, a sentiment captured perfectly in the opening sentence of his Memoirs: "I will begin with this confession: whatever I have done in the course of my life, whether it be good or evil, has been done freely; I am a free agent."Memoirs of Casanova Volume V finds Giacomo Casanova serving as an aide to a powerful Venetian senator. Back in the city of his birth, surrounded with the vices and old friends who forced him to leave in the first place, Casanova soon finds himself in dire straits. When a practical joke goes horribly wrong, he escapes to the city of Parma, hoping to reinvent himself yet again. There, however, he unexpectedly falls in love with a Frenchwoman named Henriette, a soul whose wit and beauty tempt the young libertine-perhaps for the first and last time-to settle down and sow his wild oats. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Giacomo Casanova's Memoirs of Casanova is a classic of European literature reimagined for modern readers.
On the fiftieth anniversary of his death, C.S. Lewis was commemorated in Poets' Corner, Westminster Abbey, taking his place beside the greatest names in English literature. Oxford and Cambridge Universities, where Lewis taught, also held celebrations of his life. This volume gathers together addresses from those events into a single anthology. Rowan Williams and Alister McGrath assess Lewis's legacy in theology, Malcolm Guite addresses his integration of reason and imagination, William Lane Craig takes a philosophical perspective, while Lewis's successor as Professor of Medieval and Renaissance English, Helen Cooper, considers him as a critic. Others contribute their more personal and creative responses: Walter Hooper, Lewis's biographer, recalls their first meeting; there are poems, essays, a panel discussion, and even a report by the famous 'Mystery Worshipper' from the Ship of Fools website, along with a moving recollection by Royal Wedding composer Paul Mealor about how he set one of Lewis's poems to music. Containing theology, literary criticism, poetry, memoir, and much else, this volume reflects the breadth of Lewis's interests and the astonishing variety of his own output: a diverse and colourful commemoration of an extraordinary man.
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