Recognizing Biography

Epstein's narrative interweaves interpretive and theoretical chapters as it emplots the discourse of English biography from Walton to Strachey. In this way familiar generic relationships between biographer, subject, life, text, falsehood, and readership are analyzed in specific (if constantly shifting) historical, literary, cultural, and economic texts. Content Acknowledgments 1. Introduction: Recognizing Biography 2. Altering the Life-Text: Walton's Life of Donne 3. Recognizing the Life-Text 4. Patronizing the Biographical Subject: Johnson's Life of Savage 5. Recognizing the Biographical Subject 6. Recognizing the Biographer: Boswell's Life of Johnson 7. Recognizing the Life-course: Strachey's Eminent Victorians Notes Index