Prancing Novelist: in praise of Ronald Firbank

One of the most penetrating and sympathetic explorations ever undertaken by one writer into the mind of another, Prancing Novelist is far more than a simple tribute or work of research. In these pages–by turns instructive, mischievous, and even gossipy–Brigid Brophy seeks nothing less than a vindication of the eternal liveliness of fiction itself against the persistent rumors that it is dying or dead. Though serious in intent, Prancing Novelist is not only a monument to Firbank, but is also a delightful showcase for Brophy’s own uproarious prose, not to mention her genius for telling good stories.“Atheist, vegetarian, socialist; novelist and short-story writer; humanist; biographer; playwright . . . most loyal of friends; reverer of Jane Austen; lover of Italy; Mozart adorer ... smoker of cigarettes in a chic holder and painter of her fingernails purple; mother, grandmother, wife; feminist; lover of men and women; Brigid Brophy was above all an intellectual, which British (although she was Irish) authors aren’t supposed to be.” —Giles Gorden, The IndependentNovelist, biographer, and critic Brigid Brophy wrote nine works of fiction, including The King of a Rainy Country and In Transit. She also wrote a number of works of nonfiction, which included books on Aubrey Beardsley and Mozart, as well as the infamous Fifty Works of English Literature We Could Do Without. Contents......Page 6 List of Illustrations......Page 8 Author's Note......Page 9 Outline Chronology......Page 10 Preface......Page 12 PART ONE. IN PRAISE OF FICTION......Page 15 PART TWO: IN PURSUIT OF FIRBANK......Page 103 PART THREE: FIRBANK IN PURSUIT......Page 253 PART FOUR: IN PRAISE OF FIRBANK' S FICTION......Page 405 Appendix: Firbank's Preface to The Flower Beneath the Foot......Page 583 Book.s, Magazines and Articles Cited......Page 585 Index......Page 593 Illustrations......Page 607