London Perceived

Pritchett, V. S.

Verlag: Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc, New York, 1963

Beschreibung

The format is approximately 8.75 inches by 11.25 inches. [4], 116, [2] pages. Color frontispiece. Illustrations (18 pages in full color and 111 pages in monochrome gravure). Index. The dust jacket is in a plastic sleeve and has stains, soiling, small tears and other wear. Sir Victor Sawdon Pritchett CH CBE FRSL (also known as VSP; 16 December 1900 20 March 1997) was a British writer and literary critic. Pritchett was known particularly for his short stories, collated in a number of volumes. Among his most noteworthy works of short fiction are "The Sailor," "The Saint," and "The Camberwell Beauty." His non-fiction works include London Perceived, the memoirs A Cab at the Door (1968) and Midnight Oil (1971), and many collections of essays on literary biography and criticism. In 1923 he started writing for The Christian Science Monitor, which sent him to Ireland and Spain. From 1926 he wrote reviews for that paper and for the New Statesman, later being appointed its literary editor. Pritchett's first book, Marching Spain (1928), describes a journey across Spain, and his second book, Clare Drummer (1929), is about his experiences in Ireland. During the Second World War Pritchett worked for the BBC and the Ministry of Information while continuing to write weekly essays for the New Statesman. After World War II he wrote extensively and embarked on various positions as a university lecturer in the United States: Princeton (1953), the University of California (1962), Columbia University and Smith College. He was President of PEN International, the worldwide association of writers from 1974 until 1976. Evelyn Hofer (January 21, 1922 November 2, 2009) was a German-American portrait and documentary photographer. Hofer was born in Marburg, Germany. The family moved to Geneva in 1933 in order to escape Nazism, and then to Spain. Evelyn attempted unsuccessfully to enter the Paris Conservatory and then switched to photography, first apprenticing in Zürich and Basel and then taking private tuition in Zürich. After Franco came to power they moved again, to Mexico in the early 1940s. It was in Mexico that she had her first work as a professional photographer. She moved to New York in 1946, where she worked with Alexey Brodovitch of Harper's Bazaar and befriended Richard Lindner and Saul Steinberg. Hofer used a four-by-five inch view camera to make orderly and well-constructed portraits and scenic photographs. Her style centered on straightforward compositions that were clear, but not simple. Her portraits show subjects looking lost, sad, or at least ambiguous. About the book: London of the mind, the heart, and the eye is displayed, discussed and dissected with eloquence and understated wit in this classic collaboration uniting the unfailingly elegant prose of V. S. Pritchett and the consistently revealing photographs of Evelyn Hofer. Here is a pithy and knowledgeable distillation of the London experience a panorama of its history, art, literature, and daily life. Here is the city that Londoners know, a paradox of grandeur and grime, the locus of bustling markets and tranquil parks, of the ancient and modern, of palaces and pubs, of docks and railroad depots. As Pritchett observes, "If Paris suggests intelligence, if Rome suggests the world, if New York suggests activity, the word for London is experience. This points to the awful fact that London has been the most powerful and richest capital in the world for several centuries. It has been, until a mere fifteen years ago, the capital of the largest world empire since the Roman and, even now, is the focal point of a vague Commonwealth. It is the capital source of a language now dominant in the world. Great Britain invented the London printed it and made it presentable." This is listed as 'the 4565th greatest books of all times'--"London Perceived" is a richly descriptive exploration of England's capital, delving into the unique atmosphere, culture, and character that define the city. Through.

Bestandsnummer des Verkäufers 89809

Bibliografische Details

• Titel: London Perceived
• Verlag: Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc, New York
• Erscheinungsjahr: 1963
• Einband: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Evelyn Hofer (Photographer)
• Auflage: 1. Auflage
• Zustand: Good
• Zustand des Schutzumschlags: Fair