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Monk Lewis: A Critical Biography Contributor(s): MacDonald, D. L. (Author) |
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ISBN: 0802047491 ISBN-13: 9780802047496 Publisher: University of Toronto Press
WE WILL NOT BE UNDERSOLD! Click here for our low price guarantee Binding Type: Hardcover Published: October 2000 Annotation: Matthew Gregory Lewis (1775-1818), The English Novelist, Playwright, poet, and composer is best known for his Gothic novel, The Monk (1796). From a literary perspective, he translated or adapted works by Goethe, Kleist, and Schiller and may be said to have inspired and influenced such diverse writers as Artaud, Coleridge, Dickens, Flaubert, and Scott. D.L. Macdonald presents a modern critical biography of this neglected cultural figure. It is the first study to consider all of Lewis's works and their connections to his personal life. In particular, Macdonald considers the significance of Lewis's position as a liberal slave owner in the age of abolition and as a (probable) homosexual in an age of virulent homophobia. He begins by focusing on Lewis's personal life and his constant preoccupations stemming from the failure of his parents' marriage, his relationships with his mother and his father, and from his sexuality. Macdonald then proceeds to a discussion of the author's public life as part of the literary and political history of the period. The biography is based on extensive archival research in England, Scotland, Jamaica, and North America, drawing on recently discovered manuscript and printed material as well as contemporary reviews. |
Additional Information |
BISAC Categories: - Biography & Autobiography | Literary Figures - Biography & Autobiography | Historical |
Dewey: B |
LCCN: 2001334307 |
Physical Information: 1.11" H x 6.22" W x 9.44" L (1.41 lbs) 408 pages |
Themes: - Chronological Period - 1800-1850 - Chronological Period - 18th Century - Cultural Region - British Isles |
Features: Dust Cover |
Review Citations: Reference and Research Bk News 02/01/2001 pg. 191 |
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
Publisher Description: Matthew Gregory Lewis (1775-1818), the English novelist, playwright, poet, and composer, is best known for his Gothic novel "The Monk" (1796). His literary endeavours included translations and adaptions of works by Goethe, Kleist, and Schiller. Lewis is said to have inspired and influenced such diverse writers as Artaud, Coleridge, Dickens, Flaubert, and Scott. D.L. Macdonald presents a modern critical biography of Lewis, who until now has been neglected as a cultural figure. This is the first study to consider all of Lewis's works and their connections to his personal life. In particular, Macdonald considers the significance of Lewis's position as a liberal slave-owner in the age of abolition and as a (probable) homosexual in an age of virulent homophobia. He begins by focusing on Lewis's personal life and his constant preoccupations stemming from the failure of his parents' marriage, from his relationships with his mother and his father, and from his sexuality. Macdonald then proceeds to a discussion of Lewis's public life as part of the literary and political history of the period. The biography is based on extensive archival research in England, Scotland, Jamaica, and North America, drawing on recently discovered manuscript and printed material as well as contemporary views. |
Contributor Bio(s): MacDonald, D. L.: - D.L. Macdonald is an associate professor in the Department of English, University of Calgary. He is the author of "Poor Polidori: A Critical Biography of the Author of The Vampyre" (1991). |
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