The rise and fall of the man of letters: Aspects of English literary life since 1800

by John Gross

In this survey, John Gross gives portraits of major literary figures from Frances Jeffrey, the first editor of the "Edinburgh Review", through Thomas Carlyle, Matthew Arnold and many others to the advent of F.R.Leavis and Raymond Williams. He looks at "the higher journalism", the expansion of the reading public, the byways of British liberalism, the rise of English literature as an academic subject and the impact of T.S. Eliot and modernism. In a new afterword he provides updates on the later careers of Cyril Connolly, Geoffrey Grigson and Leavis and discusses the new style of literary critics who have evolved from the universities. Finally he considers the dominant role of the media and entertainment.

Genres: History, Literature, Nonfiction, Criticism, Literary Criticism

336 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1969

About the author

John Gross was the editor of The Times Literary Supplement in London, a senior book editor and book critic on the staff of The New York Times in New York, and theatre critic for The Sunday Telegraph. He was also literary editor of The New Statesman and Spectator magazines.

Reviews

[James Horgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Duff Cooper Prize was going through a dry patch at the end of the 1960s. This erudite work would be of interest to students of English criticism tracing the history of critical thought from Thomas Carlyle onwards. For others it is probably a bit too obscure.

The author had clearly read and pondered a great many authors, a few of whom I had heard of, many being literary critics or early English professors whose names one may have come across, but whose works lie mouldering.

It's also deceptively long. Dense type, not one you can skim. It does get a bit easier as you go through but require perseverance.

In conclusion the author wonders whether a general education and life experience counts for rather more than narrow university English curricula. In that he is probably right. Don't confuse having had an education with being educated, or knowing material for examinations with being wise.

[Kevin McDonagh · Rating 2 out of 5]

Quizzed on his disdain of film critics, Stanley Kubrick said he'd yet to read a criticism which required as much work as did making his films. He just gave them their warranted attention.

Evidently, this niche work is deeply researched, but starved of insights outside surface observations. This 'encyclopedia-man-of-lettersia' is more of an excellently annotated appendix, and a missed opportunity because some intriguing characters are uncovered. There's no mention of public reactions or the celebrity figures of the time so little context to appreciate the environment of the mentioned niche contributors. One exclusively for the crowd studying English public reading habits 1800-1930.

[Daisy]

Recommendation from National Review article on Chesterton.