Notice bibliographique
- Notice
Type(s) de contenu et mode(s) de consultation : Texte noté : sans médiation
Auteur(s) : Clarke, Norma (1948-....)
Titre(s) : Brothers of the quill [Texte imprimé] : Oliver Goldsmith in Grub street / Norma Clarke
Publication : Cambridge, Massachusetts : Harvard university press, 2016
Description matérielle : viii, 399 pages ; 22 cm
Comprend : Part one: Grub Street ; An Irishman in London ; "Borderers upon Parnassus" ; The
philosophic vagabond ; Covent Garden ; Authors by profession ; Writing for the
press ; Beau Tibbs ; The real story of John Carteret Pilkington ; Part two: Man
of letters ; Debauchery ; The vicar of Wakefield ; James Grainger and the sugar-cane
; Robert Nugent and son ; The good natured man.
Note(s) : Includes bibliographical references (pages 353-386) and index
"Brothers of the Quill takes a familiar eighteenth-century theme - Grub Street, the
trials and tribulations of professional writers in the early days of commercial literature
- and brings a new perspective to it. It follows the early career of Oliver Goldsmith,
who in 1756 arrived destitute in London - an Irish 'vagabond' -and within a few years
rose out of Grub Street anonymity to become a celebrated author. It investigates Goldsmith's
literary themes and choices, his friendships and reputation in the context of the
parallel careers of some of his associates. Brothers of the Quill looks beyond the
famous 'Club' of Johnson, Reynolds, and Burke, and beyond the condescending anecdotes
that fixed Goldsmith as "an anomalous creature" in polite eighteenth-century English
culture, to find more complex ways of understanding his achievement. It takes seriously
his Irishness and his sophistication. It delves deeply into key eighteenth-century
issues that figure in Goldsmith's writings because they troubled his life: colonial
power, patronage, libertinism, prostitution, gambling, debt and imprisonment, slavery
and indenture, enclosure and absenteeism. Goldsmith became one of the best-loved writers
in English literature, especially for The Vicar of Wakefield, She Stoops to Conquer,
and The Deserted Village (a novel, a play, a poem), but he is no longer much read
and his stature has never been properly acknowledged. Goldsmith transmuted dark realities
into fable, fun, and nostalgia. His ability to tell stories and elaborate myths brought
fame and fine living. Brothers of the Quill argues that it is time to look again at
Oliver Goldsmith."--Provided by publisher
Sujet(s) : Goldsmith, Oliver (1730?-1774)
Goldsmith, Oliver (1730?-1774) -- Amis et relations
Vie intellectuelle -- Londres (GB) -- 18e siècle
Genre ou forme : Biographie
Identifiants, prix et caractéristiques : ISBN 9780674736573 (cloth) (alk. paper). - ISBN 0674736575 (cloth) (alk. paper)
Identifiant de la notice : ark:/12148/cb45049070b
Notice n° :
FRBNF45049070
(notice reprise d'un réservoir extérieur)
