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Lives of the Novelists: A History of Fiction in 294 Lives
No previous author has attempted a book such as this: a complete history of novels written in the English language, from the genre's seventeenth-century origins to the present day. In the spirit of Dr. Johnson’s Lives of the Poets, acclaimed critic and scholar John Sutherland selects 294 writers whose works illustrate the best of every kind of fiction—from gothic, penny dr...more
Hardcover, 832 pages
Published
March 27th 2012
by Yale University Press
(first published March 27th 2007)
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I've just finished reading an enormous work over 1,000 pages, Lives of the Novelists: a history of fiction in 294 lives, short biographies of novelists writing in English by John Sutherland (Profile Books London 2011). It presents a novel idea (excuse the pun), embodying both literary and social history in English from John Bunyan in 1660 to Rana Dasgupta in 2010. It charts literary fashions, examines the best sellers and the classics of past and present years and gives an idea of how the novel...more
Deeply unsatisfying. Sutherland includes too many non-novelists (Poe, Saki, Samuel Johnson, O Henry, Ambrose Bierce) and too many obscure novelists (who the heck are Susanna Haswell and Charles Brocken Brown and John Polispri and Fanny Fern and Sylannus Cobb Jr.) and too minor genre writers (Zane Gray, Earl Stanley Gardener, Issac Asimov) which would be OK if he was aiming for completeness... But he leaves out major figures like Sinclair Lewis, Thomas Pynchon, Colm Toibin, Edmund White, Hollingh...more
This massive tome makes for enjoyable but, as has been frequently pointed out by critics, unreliable reading. I did all the chapters from the Edwardians on, I think, and have picked away at earlier entries. You can tell he's faking it when you get to areas you yourself know something about, such as science fiction. (The only reason that The Space Merchants is a towering classic is that Kingsley Amis featured it in New Maps of Hell way back in the 60s.) He really isn't that well read (how could h...more
These short bios are so deft, insightful, and funny, with well-chosen quotes from interesting and unexpected parties (like T.S. Eliot on Flannery O'Connor). It's like the best lecture from a favorite college professor.
Sutherland’s intent in this lengthy volume modeled on Lives of the Poets, is to include a variety of fiction from “penny dreadfuls to high literature.” And yet some of his choices are baffling. If one is selecting according to books that reflect a certain period, why include Edna Ferber and not Sinclair Lewis? Why James Cain and not Simone De Beauvoir? Why Catherine Cookson and not Doris Lessing. Why, for heaven’s sakes, Thomas Hardy and not Leo Tolstoy? I could go on. Of course, an anthology is...more
I read this straight through until I came to the 20th century. From there, I began skimming more and more as I got closer to the present. Reading it straight through creates an interesting narrative of the progression of the novel and modern medicine. There is a span when nearly every entry either dies of tuberculosis or their loved ones die. I felt like when it came into the 20th century, perhaps because there wasn’t as much distance, the narrative of time became less compelling. Also I was su...more
John Sutherland, an academic himself, seems to have set out to annoy his colleagues. Not for him an analysis of the text with the assumption that the author is dead, or nice distinctions between literature and other kinds of fiction. Quite the contrary; Sutherland thinks writers’ lives bear directly on what they write and that writers’ works can be directly influenced and affected by other writers, and that this is worth pointing out and examining.
Read full review here: http://newtownreviewofboo...more
Read full review here: http://newtownreviewofboo...more
A very enjoyable guided tour through novelists writing in English starting with John Bunyan and ending with Rana Dasgupta, by way of all sorts of literary highways and byways. This massive tome (800 pages plus) kept me very entertained for about 6 months. What I found particularly enjoyable was the breadth of coverage - Sutherland includes both 'classic'/literary and 'popular'/genre authors: so Dickens, Hardy, Forster, Julian Barnes and John Updike rub shoulders with Georgette Heyer, Zane Grey,...more
Wonderful, so many witty information about so many authors and some of them are among my favorites. I think I'd buy a printed copy as soon as I find it. This is a book to read and reread all over again!
Bellissimo, così tante nuove e particolari informazioni su tanti autori, tra cui alcuni dei miei favoriti. Appena la trovo mi compro anche una copia cartacea che questo è un libro da leggere e rileggere in continuazione!
THANKS TO NETGALLEY AND YALE UNIVERSITY PRESS FOR THE PREVIEW
Bellissimo, così tante nuove e particolari informazioni su tanti autori, tra cui alcuni dei miei favoriti. Appena la trovo mi compro anche una copia cartacea che questo è un libro da leggere e rileggere in continuazione!
THANKS TO NETGALLEY AND YALE UNIVERSITY PRESS FOR THE PREVIEW
This is a lively, gossipy book about writers' lives. Half the fun is the author's witty style. It was probably not meant to be read in one go, the way I did. And other readers' comments are valid: There is a certain capriciousness to the choices, and the contemporary writers seem to be less interesting. But I recommend to anyone who a lover of literature.
Admittedly I haven't read every page of this very long book, but what I have read I absolutely love! Sutherland's brief bios of well-known as well as obscure authors had me downloading their works right and left off of Amazon. Covering four centuries and 294 lives makes for a massive tome and one you would think would be dry and boring, but this is anything but!
This is extremely readable and entertaining, and I plan on buying my own copy of this book so I can peruse it at my leisure, and highli...more
This is extremely readable and entertaining, and I plan on buying my own copy of this book so I can peruse it at my leisure, and highli...more
Sutherland give us a snapshot of the lives of 294 writers that chronicles the history of the novel and is illustrative of how much or how little the author appears in his or her work.
A must for those who love books about books and books about authors.
A must for those who love books about books and books about authors.
I won this book from Goodreads - THANKS! This is my 'go to' book for learning about the lives of the authors I read. Excellent overview of the most important novelists. John Sutherland has done an excellent job condensing important information.
This book is so much fun. Written by an academic and published by Yale university Press, Lives is not what I'd expected. It's dishy and gossipy, filled with fun facts that you probably didn't know about your favorite authors. This 818 page door stop dishes on well known authors from the 17th century to the 20th century. Pick this one up at your local library. Entries are typically 4-5 pages long, so you can read them between books or whenever you want a read but don't have a lot of time. I highl...more
LIVES OF THE NOVELIST by John Sutherland.
This is unlike any other novelist compilation book I have ever read. The short sketches of the writers always told me something I did not know about the authors, and Sutherland was brutally frank in his assessments. My only complaint was trying to understand why he chose some of his subjects. Some of the writers were mere hacks and a few were momentously forgettable.
This is unlike any other novelist compilation book I have ever read. The short sketches of the writers always told me something I did not know about the authors, and Sutherland was brutally frank in his assessments. My only complaint was trying to understand why he chose some of his subjects. Some of the writers were mere hacks and a few were momentously forgettable.
Not at all a book to read in one sitting, but nice to page through. 3.5 stars.
Really enjoying the tone of this - but it's a dip in and out tome.
Utter joy!
May 17, 2013
Elena
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Shelves:
biography,
criticism,
english,
history,
kindle,
victorian,
scottish,
romance,
poetry,
long-18th-cent,
irish,
drama,
contemporary,
20th-century
May 03, 2013
Kathy
is currently reading it
Apr 24, 2013
Lor Go
marked it as to-read
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John Andrew Sutherland is an English lecturer, emeritus professor, newspaper columnist and author.
Now Emeritus Lord Northcliffe Professor of Modern English Literature at University College London, John Sutherland began his academic career after graduating from the University of Leicester as an assistant lecturer in Edinburgh in 1964. He specialises in Victorian fiction, 20th century literature, an...more
More about John Sutherland...
Now Emeritus Lord Northcliffe Professor of Modern English Literature at University College London, John Sutherland began his academic career after graduating from the University of Leicester as an assistant lecturer in Edinburgh in 1964. He specialises in Victorian fiction, 20th century literature, an...more
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Apr 18, 2013 11:30pm
Apr 18, 2013 11:40pm