The Quest for Corvo: An Experiment in Biography (Penguin Modern Classics) - Softcover

Symons, A. J. A.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 024131299X ISBN 13: 9780241312995

Publisher: Penguin Classics, 2018

Synopsis

'What had happened to the lost manuscripts, what train of chances took Rolfe to his death in Venice? The Quest continued'

One summer afternoon A.J.A. Symons is handed a peculiar, eccentric novel that he cannot forget and, captivated by this unknown masterpiece, determines to learn everything he can about its mysterious author. The object of his search is Frederick Rolfe, self-titled Baron Corvo - artist, rejected candidate for priesthood and author of serially autobiographical fictions - and its story is told in this 'experiment in biography': a beguiling portrait of an insoluble tangle of talents, frustrated ambitions and self-destruction.

About this title

About the Author

The short life of A.J.A. Symons (1900-41) was described by his biographer as an intricate and largely harmless confidence trick. His many interests included the collection of musical boxes and rare books as well as the study and practice of forgery; they left him time to edit an anthology of Edwardian verse and compose studies of H.M. Stanley and other notable figures. He is remembered for The Quest for Corvo, one of the most remarkable biographies ever written, and for co-founding the Wine and Food Society.

Edition details

• Publisher: Penguin Classics
• Publication date: 2018
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 024131299X
• ISBN 13: 9780241312995
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 272