The Memoirs of John Addington Symonds

A Critical Edition

Nonfiction, History, British, Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism
Cover of the book The Memoirs of John Addington Symonds by , Palgrave Macmillan UK
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: ISBN: 9781137291240
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan UK Publication: February 9, 2017
Imprint: Palgrave Macmillan Language: English
Author:
ISBN: 9781137291240
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan UK
Publication: February 9, 2017
Imprint: Palgrave Macmillan
Language: English

This edition is the first to reproduce John Addington Symonds's Memoirs in its entirety. It offers a panoramic view of middle-class Victorian life, shedding light upon sexual cultures and life histories too often hidden from history. Symonds (1840-93) began writing his Memoirs in 1889. It was, he confessed, 'a foolish thing to do.' Symonds was a respected man of letters, an historian, translator, essayist and poet; he was also married with children. But rather than unfold a simple tale of public and private achievement, the Memoirs record his struggle to reconcile his homosexuality with these professional and familial identities. His autobiography offers a confessional account of relationships beyond the accepted bounds of nineteenth-century social mores, presenting an alternative case study that contests the legal and medical authorities that would label his desires a crime or disease. Yet being so eloquent on matters of heterodox sexuality, the Memoirs were suppressed. The manuscript survives because Symonds recognised its import, however 'foolish': he instructed his literary executor to preserve the text, a duty ultimately discharged by placing the manuscript under embargo in the care of the London Library.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

This edition is the first to reproduce John Addington Symonds's Memoirs in its entirety. It offers a panoramic view of middle-class Victorian life, shedding light upon sexual cultures and life histories too often hidden from history. Symonds (1840-93) began writing his Memoirs in 1889. It was, he confessed, 'a foolish thing to do.' Symonds was a respected man of letters, an historian, translator, essayist and poet; he was also married with children. But rather than unfold a simple tale of public and private achievement, the Memoirs record his struggle to reconcile his homosexuality with these professional and familial identities. His autobiography offers a confessional account of relationships beyond the accepted bounds of nineteenth-century social mores, presenting an alternative case study that contests the legal and medical authorities that would label his desires a crime or disease. Yet being so eloquent on matters of heterodox sexuality, the Memoirs were suppressed. The manuscript survives because Symonds recognised its import, however 'foolish': he instructed his literary executor to preserve the text, a duty ultimately discharged by placing the manuscript under embargo in the care of the London Library.

More books from Palgrave Macmillan UK

Cover of the book The International Handbook of Shipping Finance by
Cover of the book Working-through Collective Wounds by
Cover of the book Shared Society or Benign Apartheid? by
Cover of the book European Real Estate by
Cover of the book Monetary Policy and Financial Repression in Britain, 1951 - 59 by
Cover of the book Constructing Identities at Work by
Cover of the book Environmental Crime in Latin America by
Cover of the book Access and Participation in Irish Higher Education by
Cover of the book Public Spheres and Mediated Social Networks in the Western Context and Beyond by
Cover of the book Food and the Literary Imagination by
Cover of the book Practicing Post-Liberal Peacebuilding by
Cover of the book The Economics of the Frontier by
Cover of the book Banking Secrecy and Global Finance by
Cover of the book Britain's International Development Policies by
Cover of the book Entrepreneurial Excellence in the Knowledge Economy by
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy