the Book of Prefaces - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1582340374 ISBN 13: 9781582340371

Verlag: Bloomsbury USA, 2000

Inhaltsangabe

From Beowulf to Shaw: a history of literature seen through the collected and annotated prefaces of major writers from all over the English-speaking world.

Remember all the times you skipped the preface thinking you would get back to it, and never did? Here is an opportunity to read nothing but prefaces, and you'll be delighted to find what fun you've been missing.

A unique work of literature which will amuse, amaze and inform both casual browsers and students, The Anthology of Prefaces is a work of monumental scholarship and idiosyncratic passion. It is the result of a lifetime's reading, prodigious research and years of creative labor from Scotland's grand old man of letters. Alasdair Gray has chosen and edited all of the prefaces presented in this impressive volume and has included commentary by some thirty other authors including James Kelman, A.L. Kennedy, and Virginia Woolf. The Anthology of Prefaces offers an unusual and unprecedented look at literature, a treat for any reader.

Über diesen Titel

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Alasdair Gray is the author of the Whitbread and the Guardian prize-winning novel Poor Things and the story collection Ten Tales Tall and True.

Rezensionen

This compilation of "every major introductory essay in the English language from Caedmon in the seventh century to Wilfred Owen in the twentieth century" is arranged chronologically, with entertaining annotations. REVWR
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

This long-anticipated book from a major figure in the Scottish literary revival lives up to expectations. A delightfully original, ironic, and humorous compilation, it aims to include every major introductory essay in the English language from Caedmon (seventh century) up to the early 20th century. A red gloss runs down the side of most pages, providing fascinating and often idiosyncratic commentary. The reader learns, for example, that in John Gay's day thieves were likely to hang "unless, like the most successful thieves, they could hire lawyers." Gray, noted for his poetry as well as his novels (Lanark), stories, and plays for stage, radio, and television, was assisted by some 30 contributors, who wrote about 20 percent of the commentary. This book shows how English/American literature spread and developed, but it is itself a work of literature. It is not the mere reference anthology it may appear at first, though it could indeed serve as one. Gray designed this attractive book right down to its quirky dust jacket and drew sketches of many of the contributors. A truly outstanding book; recommended for public and academic libraries.DPeter Dollard, Alma Coll. Lib., MI
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: Bloomsbury USA
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2000
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 1582340374
• ISBN 13: 9781582340371
• Einband: Gebundene Ausgabe
• Anzahl der Seiten: 672
• Herausgeber: Gray Alasdair
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: WordUnited GmbH; distribution@wordunited.com; ; Theodorstrasse 105; DUSSELDORF; 40472; Deutschland