Writings on Writing - Softcover

Kemp, Sandra

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0521111757 ISBN 13: 9780521111751

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2009

Synopsis

Unlike his contemporaries Virginia Woolf and Henry James, Kipling always denied he was a critic. But his letters, speeches, and stories are full of comments on writing and writers. This collection, including many formerly unpublished private letters and papers, details Kipling's response to the commercialisation of literature and the emerging role of the writer as celebrity in the turbulent literary world of the 1890s and beyond. They reveal a mind intensely concerned with questions of literary value, with language and imagination, with truth, realism, and romanticism. Kipling's fame made him a significant spokesperson for important segments of the reading public - the soldiers, engineers, and functionaries central to Britain's imperial expansion. He profoundly influenced English literary language and our perception of English national character. This book offers access to the private and public history of a writer whose continuing influence is still a matter of fierce controversy.

About this title

Book Description

Kipling always denied he was a critic, but this collection of letters and papers, many published for the first time, establishes his engagement with critical issues. Kipling profoundly influenced our understanding of English literature and national character, and this book offers access to the private and public history of a still fiercely controversial writer.

Edition details

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 2009
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0521111757
• ISBN 13: 9780521111751
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 244