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Author, Author
Contributor(s): Lodge, David (Author)
ISBN: 0143036092     ISBN-13: 9780143036098
Publisher: Penguin Books
OUR PRICE:   $20.90  
Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats
Published: December 2005
Qty:
Annotation: A new literary, historical novel from the popular author of Therapy and Thinks.
The protagonist is the American novelist Henry James, and the focus is on James's friendship with George Du Maurier, the famous "Punch artist and illustrator, and on his literary middle years - the 1880s. Henry is seriously worried by the declining popularity of his books and decides to try his hand as a playwright. At the same time, George Du Maurier diversifies into writing novels. The consequences for both men are surprising, ironic, comic and tragic by turns. As Du Maurier's Trilby, much to the bewilderment of its author himself, becomes the bestseller of the century, Henry anxiously awaits the first night of his make-or-break play, "Guy Domville.
Thronged with vividly drawn characters, Author, Author presents a fascinating panorama of literary and theatrical life in late Victorian England, which in many ways, foreshadowed today's cultural mix of art, commerce and publicity. But it is essentially a novel about authorship - about the obsessions, hopes, triumphs and disappointments of those who live by the pen.
Additional Information
BISAC Categories:
- Fiction | Literary
Dewey: FIC
Physical Information: 0.78" H x 4.96" W x 7.87" (0.61 lbs) 400 pages
 
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc.
Publisher Description:
A cunning, audacious portait of Henry James.--The Boston Globe

Henry James takes center stage in this brilliant story about literary ambition, creativity, and rivalry as revealed in the public career and private life of this most singular writer. Framed by a moving and dramatic account of his last illness, Author opens in the early 1880s, describing James's close friendship with an illustrator named George du Maurier and his intimate but problematic relationship with fellow American novelist Constance Fenimore Woolson. At the end of the decade, Henry, worried by the failure of his books to sell, resolves to achieve fame and fortune as a playwright, while du Maurier diversifies into writing novels. The consequences that ensue mingle comedy, irony, pathos, and suspense. As Du Maurier's novel Trilby becomes the bestseller of the century, Henry anxiously awaits the opening night of his make-or-break play, Guy Domville. This event, on January 5, 1895, and its complex sequel form the climax to Lodge's absorbing novel.