Thackeray at work
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
Thackeray at work
(Bloomsbury academic collections, . English literary criticism ; 18th-19th centuries)
Bloomsgury, 2013
- : hardback
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Note
Bibliography: p. 144-146
Includes index
Reprint. Originally published: London : Athlone Press, 1974
Description and Table of Contents
Description
The study of Thackeray's major fiction reconstructs the novelist's working methods with the help of manuscript material, much of it previously unpublished. The book's main argument is directed against the commonplace view that Thackeray was in some way a 'careless' artist. Much that appears casual or unpremeditated in his work can in fact be explained by the mode of composition which he developed in response both to the publishing conditions of his age and to his own artistic temperament. An appreciation of Thackeray's writing habits helps clear up much of the critical confusion which has surrounded his reputation in the last hundred years. A particular feature of interest in the book is the use made of Thackeray's preparatory working materials. These were widely dispersed after the writer's death and have never been comprehensively examined.
Table of Contents
List of Illustrations
Introduction
1. Vanity Fair The Art of Improvisation
2. Pendennis The Two Thackerays and the Limits of Autobiographical Fiction
3. Henry Esmond The Virtues of Carelessness
4. The Newcomes The Well Planned Baggy Monster
5. The Virginians The Worst Novel Anyone Ever Wrote
6. Denis Duval The Serialist and the Scholar
Appendix One: The Local Plans for Denis Duval
Appendix Two: The Esmond Notebook
Bibliography
Notes
Index
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