A deliciously original study of the cheap editions of Pride and Prejudice and other novels – ignored by literary scholars – casts new light on her readershipJane Austen aficionados think that they know the story of their favourite author’s posthumous dis-appearance and then re-emergence. For half a century after she died in 1817, her books were little known or read. A few discriminating admirers such as George Henry Lewes and Lord Macaulay kept the flame of her reputation burning, but most novelists and novel readers were oblivious to her. Then, in 1869, her nephew James Edward Austen-Leigh published a memoir about her and the public got interested. Her novels started being republished and widely read. She has never looked back.Janine Barchas’s The Lost Books of Jane Austen puts us right. Her book about books is a beautifully illustrated exploration, indeed compendium, of the popular editions of Austen’s novels that have appeared over the last two centuries. This includes those decades when Austen was supposedly lost from sight. The first chapter is a “vignette” on a copy of Sense and Sensibility, published in 1851 for George Routledge’s Railway Library (books suitable for reading on the train). It cost one shilling and was bought for the 13-year-old Gertrude Wallace, the youngest daughter of a Plymouth naval officer. It is the first of many examples of cheap and popular editions of Austen’s work that kept it alive for ordinary readers and that literary scholars have... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2019-12-11 07:30:31 UTC ]
Henry Barajas’ Latinx memoir and graphic biography of his social activist great-grandfather, 'La Voz de M.A.Y.O.: Tata Rambo' with art by J. Gonzo, will be published this month by Image Comics. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-11-19 05:00:00 UTC ]
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It’s rare for novelists to make the leap to becoming filmmakers, but Dennis Cooper has not only made the transition, his latest movie Permanent Green Light is one of the year’s best. It reworks his longtime themes of young people, intimacy, and violence to create an affecting story of... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2019-11-18 09:47:50 UTC ]
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It’s a confusing thing, being Irish. We’re European with none of the sophistication, and for a tiny island, we have an impressive lack of consistency. That said, we also have an impressive literary output. Our politics, social movements, and religions have born enough conflict to make a canon... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2019-11-15 12:00:00 UTC ]
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I first encountered Carmen Maria Machado in 2016, reading her short fiction “Horror Story” in Granta. Her innovative and acclaimed debut collection Her Body and Other Parties had not yet been published, but I scourged the internet for everything I could find. What I found were stories about... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2019-11-15 12:00:00 UTC ]
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Comedian and actor Alan Davies is publishing a memoir, Just Ignore Him, with Little, Brown. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-11-15 09:50:15 UTC ]
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Michael O’Mara Books is to publish a memoir by Jay Jayamohan, a consultant paediatric neurosurgeon at the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, and star of the acclaimed BBC fly-on-the-wall series Brain Doctors. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-11-15 05:03:30 UTC ]
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Carmen Maria Machado explains why she dedicated a chapter of her new book to recapping a sci-fi show from the ‘90s. Continue reading at Slate
[ Slate | 2019-11-14 23:07:23 UTC ]
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Altan’s cri de coeur is a timeless testament to the art and power of writing amid Orwellian repression. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2019-11-14 18:01:28 UTC ]
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Orlando Patterson’s “The Confounding Island” is a sociologist’s analysis of his birthplace as well as a personal memoir of affection and failure. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2019-11-13 19:00:09 UTC ]
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NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden has claimed his memoir Permanent Record has been censored in China, saying it breaks the terms of his publishing agreement. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-11-13 03:25:45 UTC ]
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Virtually none of us will ever know what Ahmet Altan has gone through, and continues to live through. After the 2016 Turkish coup d’etat attempt, the writer was arrested along with his brother on such claims as “sending subliminal messages to coup supporters.” In 2018, they were sentenced to... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2019-11-11 12:00:01 UTC ]
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Caren Beilin’s new book, Blackfishing the IUD (Wolfman Books, 2019), is a memoir about reproductive health and the IUD, gendered medical gaslighting, and activism in the chronic illness community. Beilin considers the copper IUD’s role in triggering her sudden onset rheumatoid arthritis. She... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2019-11-08 09:47:44 UTC ]
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“A Warning” is the latest and most unusual tell-all political memoir to emerge from President Trump’s administration. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2019-11-08 06:50:32 UTC ]
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Adam Kay’s junior doctor memoir racked up impressive sales over the course of the year and topped the chart, but a self-published title was hot on its heels in second spot. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-11-08 05:28:53 UTC ]
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Penguin Ireland will publish New Zealand rugby union coach Joe Schmidt’s memoir later this month. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-11-06 02:38:57 UTC ]
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Tori Amos—synesthete musical prodigy, RAINN activist, and one of the most iconic singer-songwriters of the 1990s (easily the greatest musical decade)—is releasing a new, politically-themed memoir entitled Resistance: A Songwriter’s Story of Hope, Change, and Courage. The book, Amos’ first since... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2019-11-05 21:44:52 UTC ]
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In the middle of Carmen Maria Machado’s new memoir In the Dream House, CARMEN, stylized in all caps like a play script, sits across from the woman with whom she’s been in an abusive relationship (THE WOMAN IN THE DREAM HOUSE). The scene is set (“the curtain rises”) and we’re shown, “the house... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2019-11-05 12:00:26 UTC ]
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“WHAT IS DIFFICULT is not impossible.” Anne Boyer both writes and proves this maxim in The Undying, her crystalline memoir of illness and the hard knowledge that illness provides. The Undying engages with art from Aelius Aristides to John Donne to Audre Lorde, within an account of the author’s... Continue reading at Los Angeles Review of Books
[ Los Angeles Review of Books | 2019-11-04 20:00:59 UTC ]
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Val Kilmer’s memoir lands at a Big Five house, 'Dead Man Walking' goes graphic, the screenwriter of The Jerk sells a thriller, and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-11-01 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Katy Waldman reviews Carmen Maria Machado’s ”In the Dream House,“ a formally inventive memoir that recounts the author’s experience with an abusive relationship. Continue reading at New Yorker
[ New Yorker | 2019-10-31 17:04:01 UTC ]
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