Author, Author - Hardcover

Lodge, David

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0436205270 ISBN 13: 9780436205279

Publisher: Secker, 2004

Synopsis

In David Lodge's last novel, Thinks... the novelist Henry James was invisibly present in quotation and allusion. In Author, Author he is centre stage, sometimes literally. The story begins in December 1915, with the dying author surrounded by his relatives and servants, most of whom have private anxieties of their own, then loops back to the 1880s, to chart the course of Henry's 'middle years', focusing particularly on his friendship with the genial Punch artist and illustrator, George Du Maurier, and his intimate but chaste relationship with the American writer Constance Fenimore Woolson. By the end of the decade Henry is seriously worried by the failure of his books to 'sell', and decides to try and achieve fame and fortune as a playwright, at the same time that George Du Maurier, whose sight is failing, diversifies into writing novels. The consequences, for both men, are surprising, ironic, comic and tragic by turns, reaching a climax in the years 1894-5. As Du Maurier's Trilby, 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, some of them with famous names, others recovered from obscurity, 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, dreams, triumphs and disappointments, of those who live by the pen - with, at its centre, an exquisite characterisation of one writer, rendered with remarkable empathy.

About this title

Review:

Since the death of Malcom Bradbury, David Lodge remains unquestionably the finest comic novelist working in the English language – with fierce intelligence matching the sardonic wit. Author, Author is not quite a new departure (the great novelist Henry James was a presence in Lodge’s much-acclaimed Thinks...), but here The Master is the central character in a brilliantly vivid picture of the man and his times.

Those who find James’ own abstruse sentences too impenetrable for their taste may fear that Lodge is aiming for a recreation of James' allusive 19th century style, but that's definitely not the case. When Lodge has James speak, it is, of course, exactly as we would expect the famous chronicler of suppressed emotion to speak – anything else would be a failure (Peter Ackroyd carried off a similar act of ventriloquism in The Lat Testament of Oscar Wilde), but the style of the novel is very much Lodge's own: humorous, sensitive to all aspects of human behaviour, rich in authentically recreated period detail. Needless to say, the effect is nothing like that of Lodge’s contemporary novels such as the wonderfulNice Work and Small World; for some, that will be a cause for disappointment, but for readers prepared to follow Lodge on this journey into another century, the rewards are considerable.

Author, Author begins with the Great Man’s death, surrounded by worried servants (struggling to cope with his growing irrationality); then we are shown his remarkable life, including his friendship with the affable Punch illustrator George Du Maurier. The literary success and the American ex-pat James’ social lionising by the cream of London society are strikingly conveyed, as is the man’s sexual repression. The most powerful passages involve James’ disastrous failure as a playwright, and this section crowns Lodge’s achievement. Lodge fans may prefer his customary style, but there are riches here. --Barry Forshaw

Review:

"Great skill is shown, and affection." (P.J. Kavanagh, The Spectator)

"a work of immense sympathy" (Margaret Cook, New Statesman)

"Not only does Lodge capture the kindliness and humour of the Master, but his novel is a rare portrait of friendship between men It enlarges the spirit as well as entertaining the heart and is a really fine novel." (Amanda Craig, New Statesman)

" perceptive and moving marvellously illuminating" (Peregrine Worsthorne, New Statesman)

"Stylistically genial and socially panoramic" (Boyd Tonkin, Independent)

About this edition

• Publisher: Secker
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 0436205270
• ISBN 13: 9780436205279
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 400