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1000 years of English literature : a treasury of literary manuscripts

by Fletcher, Chris, 1967-

Format: Print Book 2003
Availability: Available at 1 Library 1 of 1 copy

Available (1)
Location Collection Call #
Shaler North Hills Library Non-Fiction 820 F
Location  Shaler North Hills Library
 
Collection  Non-Fiction
 
Call Number  820 F
 
 

Summary
"From the 10th-Century manuscript of Beowulf to the work of such 20th century authors as Sylvia Plath, this beautifully illustrated book presents a panorama of more than 1000 years of literature in English through original manuscripts from the British Library's unparalleled collection. Organized chronologically the book reproduces manuscripts by 80 of the greatest British and Irish writers of the last millennium, from Malory and Shakespeare to Swift and Pope, from Coleridge and Wordsworth to T. S. Eliot and Dylan Thomas including such masterpieces of literature as Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre, and Virginia Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway."--BOOK JACKET.
Contents
Early and Medieval
Renaissance and restoration
The eighteenth century
The nineteenth century
The twentieth century.
Published Reviews
Booklist Review: "Fletcher, curator of literary manuscripts at the British Library, brings the originals of several gems in the library's collection to a worldwide audience with this handsome coffee-table book. This is one case in which the adjective coffee table carries no pejorative connotation. Fletcher's arrangement of excerpts from original manuscripts cries out for leisurely perusal. Each spread begins with a brief sketch of the life and significance of the author, then offers a carefully reproduced bit of manuscript on the facing page. You can view the opening page of Beowulf (with burned edges from a 1731 fire), a draft from Virginia Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway, a page from Dickens' Nicholas Nickleby in the author's "bold and bounding hand," and a portion of Sylvia Plath's "Insomniac." Virtually every famous British author is represented (the Shakespearean offering, a little disappointingly, is from The Book of Sir Thomas More). This handsome volume will have great appeal for bibliophiles and lovers of English literature. --Trygve Thoreson Copyright 2004 Booklist"
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Publisher's Weekly Review: "Virginia Woolf wrote Mrs. Dalloway in purple ink and barely scratched out a word. The old English script is still strikingly clear on the ragged-edged vellum of a 1,000-year-old manuscript of Beowulf. A page from Samuel Johnson's diary-remarkably neat, the lines utterly straight-contrasts with a wildly chaotic page from the notebooks of William Blake. These manuscripts, and many others, are reprinted in this selection from the manuscript collection of the British Library, where Fletcher works as a curator. Each of the volume's subjects is given a two-page spread, with a portrait of the writer, reproductions of his or her manuscripts and a brief description the author's working habits. Fletcher begins his book with a brief overview of the Library's manuscript collections, and poses a crucial question: What is the future of such collections in an age of computers and e-mail? His remarkably sanguine answer: "libraries are already beginning to find ways to preserve the burgeoning riches of the gloriously indiscreet and...wonderfully old-fashioned correspondence of the digital in and out box." Lovers of English literature will treasure this handsome volume, which offers a fascinating insight into the minds and methods of more than 70 British writers. 200 color illus. (Jan.) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information."

Additional Information
Subjects British Library. -- Department of Manuscripts.
English literature -- Manuscripts.
English literature -- Manuscripts -- Library resources.
Manuscripts, English -- Library resources.
Publisher New York, N.Y. :Harry N. Abrams,2003
Other Titles One thousand years of English literature
Thousand years of English literature
Contributors Evans, Roger, 1938-
Brown, Sally, 1950 May 14-
Language English
Description 191 pages : illustrations (some color) ; 29 cm
Bibliography Notes Includes bibliographical references (page 188) and index.
ISBN 0810946068
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