Biographical Fiction: A Reader - Softcover

Michael Lackey

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1501318004 ISBN 13: 9781501318009

Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic, 2016

Synopsis

In recent years, the biographical novel has become one of the most dominant literary forms-J.M. Coetzee, Margaret Atwood, Hilary Mantel, Colum McCann, Anne Enright, Joyce Carol Oates, Peter Carey, Russell Banks, and Julia Alvarez are just a few luminaries who have published stellar biographical novels. But why did this genre come into being mainly in the 20th century? Is it ethical to invent stories about an actual historical figure? What is biofiction uniquely capable of signifying? Why are so many prominent writers now authoring such works? And why are they winning such major awards? In Biographical Fiction: A Reader, some of the finest scholars and writers of biofiction clarify what led to the rise of this genre, reflect on its nature and form, and specify what it is uniquely capable of doing. Combining primary and critical material, this accessible reader will be invaluable to students, teachers, and scholars of biofiction.

About this title

About the Author

Michael Lackey is Distinguished McKnight University Professor of English at the University of Minnesota, USA. He is series editor of Bloomsbury's Biofiction Studies series and author or editor of 13 books, including of The Modernist God State: A Literary Study of the Nazis’ Christian Reich (Bloomsbury, 2012), Truthful Fictions: Conversations with American Biographical Novelists (Bloomsbury, 2014), The American Biographical Novel (Bloomsbury, 2016), and Ireland, the Irish, and the Rise of Biofiction (Bloomsbury, 2021). He is also recipient of the Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship, the Fulbright Distinguished Scholar award, and the Obama Institute Fellowship.

Edition details

• Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
• Publication date: 2016
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1501318004
• ISBN 13: 9781501318009
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 488
• Editor: Michael Lackey