Jay Parini
The Inheritance of Isabel Archer
Portrait of a Novel: Henry James and the Making of an American Masterpiece
By Michael Gorra
W W Norton 384pp £20
I’ve despaired for the art of criticism in the past few decades, losing hope at times. Perhaps the advent of theory is to blame, with its formulaic thinking and tendencies toward opacity and stale jargon. In any case, it seems difficult for critics to get a purchase on actual texts in ways that don’t dampen the interest of readers. Despite this state of affairs, it seems that biographical writing has come to life again, creating small bonfires of language that warm us, keeping hope alive. Michael Gorra’s Portrait of a Novel is a fine example, taking us deep into a major novel through aspects of a writer’s life.
Henry James is hardly the road less travelled for biographers, of course. I confess that I’ve read Leon Edel’s five-volume biography several times. And there has been memorable biographical work in recent years by Lyndall Gordon and Colm Tóibín, among others. It seems that James has always drawn the shrewdest
Sign Up to our newsletter
Receive free articles, highlights from the archive, news, details of prizes, and much more.@Lit_Review
Follow Literary Review on Twitter
Twitter Feed
In 1524, hundreds of thousands of peasants across Germany took up arms against their social superiors.
Peter Marshall investigates the causes and consequences of the German Peasants’ War, the largest uprising in Europe before the French Revolution.
Peter Marshall - Down with the Ox Tax!
Peter Marshall: Down with the Ox Tax! - Summer of Fire and Blood: The German Peasants’ War by Lyndal Roper
literaryreview.co.uk
The Soviet double agent Oleg Gordievsky, who died yesterday, reviewed many books on Russia & spying for our pages. As he lived under threat of assassination, books had to be sent to him under ever-changing pseudonyms. Here are a selection of his pieces:
Literary Review - For People Who Devour Books
Book reviews by Oleg Gordievsky
literaryreview.co.uk
The Soviet Union might seem the last place that the art duo Gilbert & George would achieve success. Yet as the communist regime collapsed, that’s precisely what happened.
@StephenSmithWDS wonders how two East End gadflies infiltrated the Eastern Bloc.
Stephen Smith - From Russia with Lucre
Stephen Smith: From Russia with Lucre - Gilbert & George and the Communists by James Birch
literaryreview.co.uk