Biography & Autobiography : Literary

Organised around a dramatic account of D. H. Lawrence's desperate struggle against tuberculosis, and of the bizarre events which followed his death, this book offers a series of often grimly humorous reflections on death and dying. Lawrence is the main focus throughout but there are references to a number of other famous literary consumptives. - ;At the heart of Death and the Author is a dramatic account of D. H. Lawrence's desperate struggle against tuberculosis during his last days, and of certain, often bizarre events which followed his death. Around this narrative David Ellis offers a series of reflections about what it is like to have a disease for which there is no cure, the appeal of alternative medicine, the temptation of suicide for the terminally ill, the diminishing role of religion in modern life, the. institution of famous last words, the consequences of dying intestate, and so on. These are clearly not the most immediately appealing of topics but they have an obvious significance for everyone and the treatment of them here is by no means lugubrious (even if, in the nature of the case, most of the jokes. fall into the category of gallows humour). Lawrence is the main focus throughout but there are extended references to a number of other famous literary consumptives such as Keats, Katherine Mansfield, Kafka, Chekhov, and George Orwell. Not a long book, Death and the author is divided into three parts called `Dying', `Death' and `Remembrance' and is made up of twenty-two short sections. Although it incorporates a good deal of original material, the annotation has been kept deliberately. light. The aim has been to combine the drama of events - a good story - with a consideration of matters which must eventually concern us all, and to present the material in a lively and accessible form. - ;Absorbing throughout. - TLS;If the subject is sombre, the account of Lawrence himself - great, complex, exasperating, brave - and the responses of h more...

Price: $39.95

Dickens's career as a journalist spanned four decades, during which he wrote over 350 articles: reports, sketches, reviews, leaders, exposés, satires and reminiscences. This project offers the first critical guide to over a million words of vintage Dickens, which have been much overlooked in continuous assessments and re-assessments of his novels. It provides both a biographical and socio-historical account of the main phases of Dickens's career as a journalist, and a critical assessment of the thematic and stylistic development of his work. more...

Price: $79.95

Small wonder that, at nine years old, Monica Holloway develops a fascination with the local funeral home. With a father who drives his Ford pickup with a Kodak movie camera sitting shotgun just in case he sees an accident, and whose home movies feature more footage of disasters than of his children, Monica is primed to become a morbid child. Throughout this remarkable memoir of her dysfunctional, eccentric, and wholly unforgettable family, Monica Holloway's prose shines with humor, clear-eyed grace, and an uncommon sense of resilience. Driving with Dead People is an extraordinary real-life tale with a wonderfully observant and resourceful heroine. more...

Price: $14.00

Edmund Curll (1683-1747) was one-man publishing firm, a figure notorious in his day and something of a comic figure ever since thanks to his enmity with Alexander Pope. This is the first full scholarly biography of his life, and gives a lively, unbiased, and accurate account of Curll's varied and distinctive publishing output. - ;Edmund Curll was a notorious figure among the publishers of the early eighteenth century: for his boldness, his lack of scruple, his publication of work without author's consent, and his taste for erotic and scandalous publications. He was in legal trouble on several occasions for piracy and copyright infringement, unauthorised publication of the works of peers, and for seditious, blasphemous, and obscene publications. He stood in the pillory in 1728 for seditious libel. Above all,. he was the constant target of the greatest poet and satirist of his age, Alexander Pope, whose work he pirated whenever he could and who responded with direct physical revenge (an emetic slipped into a drink) and persistent malign caricature. The war between Pope and Curll typifies some of the main. cultural battles being waged between creativity and business. The story has normally been told from the poet's point of view, though more recently Curll has been celebrated as a kind of literary freedom-fighter; this book, the first full biography of Curll since Ralph Straus's The Unspeakable Curll (1927), seeks to give a balanced and thoroughly-researched account of Curll's career in publishing between 1706 and 1747, untangling the mistakes and misrepresentations that have. accrued over the years and restoring a clear sense of perspective to Curll's dealings in the literary marketplace. It examines the full range of Curll's output, including his notable antiquarian series, and uses extensive archive material to detail Curll's legal and other troubles. For the first time, what is. known about this strange, interesting, and awkward figu more...

Price: $65.00

Sub-divided into five books, it describes the education and training of a young boy Emile during various stages of his life. Rousseau as his tutor teaches him the way to good living through education. The final book deals with the issues of female education. Even today it is one of the most widely read books on the subject of education. Enlightening! more...

Price: $4.99