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348th out of 384 books
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2,108 voters
Sheppard Lee, Written by Himself
Originally published in 1836.
Sheppard Lee, Written By Himself is a work of dark satire from the early years of the American Republic. Published as an autobiography and praised by Edgar Allan Poe, this is the story of a young idler who goes in search of buried treasure and finds instead the power to transfer his soul into other men's bodies. What follows is oneincreasingly...more
Sheppard Lee, Written By Himself is a work of dark satire from the early years of the American Republic. Published as an autobiography and praised by Edgar Allan Poe, this is the story of a young idler who goes in search of buried treasure and finds instead the power to transfer his soul into other men's bodies. What follows is oneincreasingly...more
Paperback, 472 pages
Published
January 15th 2008
by NYRB Classics
(first published 1836)
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Anderson Dean (fellow reader whom you all may take good advice from) recommended this title, which- much like Melville's "big book" shows that Modernity was invented long before the modern age- bends the mind and begs questions about what, exactly, an individual is. There is much which is disguised as period-didactic and even more which seems period-racist, but the book (while not necessarily undated or unracist) is much, much more than it's obvious flaws.
I had to read this for my Literature of Philadelphia course and I thought it was outstanding. Montgomery Bird does an excellent job of humorously painting a picture of how aristocratic, antebellum Philadelphia was. When people think of Philadelphia during and immediately after slavery, they automatically assume that it was such a great place. It had its moments, but Sheppard Lee takes you inside of the pompous, lazy and dangerous society that was aristocratic Philly.
Robert Montgomery Bird is a forgotten contemporary of Melville, Poe, and Hawthorne. This book is a treasure that allows us to view several different aspects of 19th Century life through the eyes of Sheppard Lee as he pops in and out of bodies. Sheppard Lee should be considered a classic American novel along with Moby Dick and A Scarlet Letter.
Nov 21, 2012
Tonia
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommended to Tonia by:
Anyone interested in 19th century American Lit
Re-reading this for a course. It will not be a chore to re-read this. Reading the introduction now, which provides some great insight into the comtemporary philosophies Bird was working within. Fascinating is Hume's idea of the fiction of "self[hood]." This notion provides an interesting way to consider self, especially interesting after just having read Poe's novel, Arthur Gordon Pym and his idea of 'self.'
Unlike some reviewers, I didn't find this book to be racist. I read it as Bird satirizin...more
Unlike some reviewers, I didn't find this book to be racist. I read it as Bird satirizin...more
Interesting if dated. Prefigures a favourite theme of American popular fiction and (especially) film: supernaturalism as morality tale. Pretty racist by modern standards in a couple of chapters concerning black slaves, which makes it difficult to really revive this as a classic central to the canon. And the writing itself isn't particularly compelling. So it's interesting to read as a product of its time rather than being a perennial classic masterpiece with universal appeal.
I learned that old Philadelphia was just as snotty and dirty as current Philadelphia.
The combination of sarcasm and humor with pre-Civil War politics and perspectives was engaging. The writing style is from the early 1800's.
This one was neat. Digestive apparatuses, dunning, science fiction, Dr. Feuerteufel, thinly veiled racism, and Quaker grammatical humor.
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Originally published in the 1830's and recently reprinted, this book has held up pretty well.
Read #1
Started on September 17, 2012
Finished on October 2, 2012
Started on September 17, 2012
Finished on October 2, 2012
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