Thomas James Wise (1859-1937), though destined to receive in his
own lifetime practically every honor the world of letters could
bestow, is remembered today as perhaps the greatest malefactor in
all of literary history. From 1934 to 1957 various enquiries have
implicated him first in the manufacture of more than fifty predated
"original" editions of eminent Victorian authors, then in seven
additional forgeries, later in countless piracies of other
nineteenth-century work, and finally in repeated acts of vandalism
upon forty-one seventeenth-century plays. It is fitting that Wise
himself appears as a contributor to this volume. Included are his
original introduction to the Browning Library, his letters to
bookseller J. E. Cornish, his extraordinary letter to Sir Edmund
Gosse, and a note to H. Buxton Forman.
These Centenary Studies review the course of research over
twenty-five years, designate topics requiring further
investigation, and assess new evidence of Wise's villainies. One
more forgery is identified, the provenance of others reexamined,
the forger's method of purveying his wares closely appraised, his
association with H. Buxton Forman and Sir Edmund Gosse more
precisely defined, and the range of his activities summarized in an
annotated handlist. The record includes at least 400 printings
directly attributed to Wise, as well as 23 suppressed or abortive
issues, and 29 others in which he seems to be somewhat involved.
Through these perspectives the culprit appears even more
contemptible and, possibly for this very reason, ever more
intriguing as a cause celebre in literary scholarship.
The illustration on the cover of this book reproduces, through a
magnifying glass, the peculiar question mark appearing in certain
forgeries printed for Wise by the firm of Richard Clay & Sons.
The mark may also implicate Wise in other irregular printings,
including The Death of Balder.
General
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