Ebook

Lives of the Novelists (Ebook)

A History of Fiction in 294 Lives

This is the most complete history of fiction in English ever published - now in paperback.

Arranged in chronological order, the novelist's lives are opinionated, informative, frequently funny and often shocking. Professor Sutherland's authors come from all over the world; their writings illustrate every kind of fiction from gothic, penny dreadfuls and pornography to fantasy, romance and high literature.

The book shows the changing forms of the genre, and how the aspirations of authors to divert and sometimes to educate their readers, has in some respects radically changed over the centuries, and in others - such as their interest in sex and relationships - remained remarkably constant.

Publication date: October 27, 2011

£18.99

ISBN: 9781847653437

ISBN 10 / ASIN: B005PQUX06

Imprint: Profile Books

Subject: Arts, Language & Literature, History & Classics

Reviews for Lives of the Novelists

'The funniest book I've read all year ... it's a riot ... Novelists in Professor Sutherland's hands are, above all, lively company'

Evening Standard

'FT Books of the Year: The fruit of decades of reading and research... A witty, and enjoyably wide-ranging book.'

Carl Wilkinson FT

'Sutherland is perfect for this job - all pith and wit... He has made a tricky job look easy'

The Dubliner

'A bumper treat for fiction fanatics... drawn with incision and wit to make (for) exhilarating reading'

Peter Lewis Daily Mail

'Witty and humane... a wonderful book that it makes you want to slink off and ransack a well-stocked library.'

Henry Hitchings FT

'Pithy quotes and witty moments'

Jonathan Bate Sunday Telegraph

'Sutherland is good value: provocative, polymathic and well practised in the art of literary criticism.'

Iain Finlayson Times

'A modern take on a reassuringly ancient format... neatly interweaves stories of the lives of writers with quirky insights into their work... highly readable'

Anne McElvoy New Statesman

'Hugely enjoyable... For those modern women of today whose preferred drug is fiction, I heartily endorse the prescriptions of Professor Sutherland.'

Caroline Moore Spectator

'Delightful for dipping and discovery.'

Lisa Hilton Independent on Sunday

'A great work of scholarship that rarely feels like it. It's just for pleasure.'

James Medd Word

'Enjoyable... It is a pleasure to watch Sutherland at work and to leaf through the pages is to circumnavigate the archives of English literature in the company of its most distinguished librarian; erudite, perspicacious and warm-hearted.'

Jonathan Barnes TLS

'Illuminating and entertaining'

Peter Washington Literary Review

'A collection of wise, witty biographical essays... healthily, sanely irreverent'

Chris Moss Time Out

'A starting point for many hours of literary discussions.'

Daily Beast

'Tremendously exhilarating... it reads like one of those unputdownable blockbusters you take to the beach.'

Michael Dirda Washington Post

'erudite and entertaining, informative and provoking.'

Wall Street Journal

'Engaging'

Booklist

'Sutherland's writing is just plain delightful.'

LA Times

'A big hearted book'

Christopher Benfey International Herald Tribune

'Warmly readable ... the best of the pieces - and there are plenty - are both satisfyingly acute and nicely rounded, like the most waspish of obituaries.'

Tim Adams Observer

John Sutherland

John Sutherland is Professor of Modern English Literature at University College London and a visiting professor at the California Institute of Technology. He has published twenty books (including Is Heathcliff a Murderer? Great Puzzles in 19th Century Fiction) and writes a weekly column for the Guardian. He was chairman of the 2005 Man Booker Prize for Fiction.