Self impression : life-writing, autobiografiction, and the forms of modern literature

"A very important intervention into a number of arenas ... a very welcome contribution to the fields of auto/biographical, late nineteenth-century and modernist studies ... opens up new ways of thinking about life-writing and, in particular, the relationship between autobiography and fiction ... a very rich and rewarding study ... it engages very productively with autobiographical theory ... It is, as a whole, subtle, informed and persuasive.' Laura Marcus, Goldsmith's Professor of English Literature, University of Oxford" "T̀his is a captivating study ... the range of the book is ... breathtaking; it is a work of great scholarship and subtle erudition ... a work of strikingly new perspectives on modernism ... Saunders's work is ambitious in scope, depth and conceptualisation, while the sophistication of his theoretical analyses are couched in a readable style ... It Will make an extremely important and original contribution to the fields of nineteenth-and twentieth-century literary criticism and is a welcome and much needed addition to recent theorisations of life-writing.' Dr Susan Jones, English Fellow, St Hilda's College, University of Oxford." "Modernism is often characterized as a movement of impersonality; a rejection of auto/biography. But most of the major works of European modernism and postmodernism engage in very profound and central ways with questions about life-writing, Max Saunders explores the ways in which modern writers from the 1870s to the 1930s experimented with forms of life-writing--biography, autobiography, memoir, diary, journal--increasingly for the purposes of fiction. He identifies a wave of new hybrid forms from the late nineteenth century and uses the term àutobiografiction'--discovered in a surprisingly early essay of 1906--to provide a fresh perspective on turn-of-the-century literature, and to propose a radically new literary history of Modernism." "Saunders offers a taxonomy of the extraordinary variety of experiments with life-writing, demonstrating how they arose in the nineteenth century as the pressures of secularization and psychological theory disturbed the categories of biography and autobiography, in works by authors such as Pater, Ruskin, Proust, M̀ark Rutherford', George Gissing, and A.C. Benson. He goes on to look at writers experimenting further with autobiografiction as impressionism turns into Modernism, juxtaposing compelling and original readings of key Modernist texts by Joyce, Stein, Pound, and Woolf, with explorations of the work of other authors--including H.G. Wells, Henry James, Joseph Conrad, Ford Madox Ford, and Wyndham Lewis--whose experiments with life-writing forms are no less striking. The book concludes with a consideration of the afterlife of these fascinating experiments in the postmodern literature of Nabokov, Lessing, and Byatt." "Self Impression sheds light on a number of significant but under-theorized issues; the meanings of the term àutobiographical', the generic implications of literary autobiography, and the intriguing relation between autobiography and fiction in the period."--Jacket. Read more... Abstract: Self Impression explores the fascinating ways in which writers from the 1870s to the 1930s - including Pater, Ruskin, Proust, Joyce, Stein, Pound, and Woolf - experimented with forms of life-writing. It proposes a new relation between autobiography and fiction in the period and a radically innovative literary history of Modernism. Read more... A Very Important Intervention Into A Number Of Arenas ... A Very Welcome Contribution To The Fields Of Auto/biographical, Late Nineteenth-century And Modernist Studies ... Opens Up New Ways Of Thinking About Life-writing And, In Particular, The Relationship Between Autobiography And Fiction ... A Very Rich And Rewarding Study ... It Engages Very Productively With Autobiographical Theory ... It Is, As A Whole, Subtle, Informed And Persuasive.' Laura Marcus, Goldsmith's Professor Of English Literature, University Of Oxford T̀his Is A Captivating Study ... The Range Of The Book Is ... Breathtaking; It Is A Work Of Great Scholarship And Subtle Erudition ... A Work Of Strikingly New Perspectives On Modernism ... Saunders's Work Is Ambitious In Scope, Depth And Conceptualisation, While The Sophistication Of His Theoretical Analyses Are Couched In A Readable Style ... It Will Make An Extremely Important And Original Contribution To The Fields Of Nineteenth-and Twentieth-century Literary Criticism And Is A Welcome And Much Needed Addition To Recent Theorisations Of Life-writing.' Dr Susan Jones, English Fellow, St Hilda's College, University Of Oxford. Modernism Is Often Characterized As A Movement Of Impersonality; A Rejection Of Auto/biography. But Most Of The Major Works Of European Modernism And Postmodernism Engage In Very Profound And Central Ways With Questions About Life-writing, Max Saunders Explores The Ways In Which Modern Writers From The 1870s To The 1930s Experimented With Forms Of Life-writing--biography, Autobiography, Memoir, Diary, Journal--increasingly For The Purposes Of Fiction. He Identifies A Wave Of New Hybrid Forms From The Late Nineteenth Century And Uses The Term àutobiografiction'--discovered In A Surprisingly Early Essay Of 1906--to Provide A Fresh Perspective On Turn-of-the-century Literature, And To Propose A Radically New Literary History Of Modernism. Saunders Offers A Taxonomy Of The Extraordinary Variety Of Experiments With Life-writing, Demonstrating How They Arose In The Nineteenth Century As The Pressures Of Secularization And Psychological Theory Disturbed The Categories Of Biography And Autobiography, In Works By Authors Such As Pater, Ruskin, Proust, M̀ark Rutherford', George Gissing, And A.c. Benson. He Goes On To Look At Writers Experimenting Further With Autobiografiction As Impressionism Turns Into Modernism, Juxtaposing Compelling And Original Readings Of Key Modernist Texts By Joyce, Stein, Pound, And Woolf, With Explorations Of The Work Of Other Authors--including H.g. Wells, Henry James, Joseph Conrad, Ford Madox Ford, And Wyndham Lewis--whose Experiments With Life-writing Forms Are No Less Striking. The Book Concludes With A Consideration Of The Afterlife Of These Fascinating Experiments In The Postmodern Literature Of Nabokov, Lessing, And Byatt. Self Impression Sheds Light On A Number Of Significant But Under-theorized Issues; The Meanings Of The Term àutobiographical', The Generic Implications Of Literary Autobiography, And The Intriguing Relation Between Autobiography And Fiction In The Period.--jacket. Modern Ironizations Of Auto/biography And The Emergence Of Autobiografiction : Victorian And Fin De Siècle Precursors. Im/personality : The Imaginary Portraits Of Walter Pater ; Aesthetic Auto/biography : Ruskin And Proust ; Pseudonymity, Third-personality, And Anonymity As Disturbances In Fin De Siècle Auto/biography : Mark Rutherford, George Gissing, Edmund Gosse And Others ; Autobiografiction : Stephen Reynolds And A.c. Benson ; Auto/biografication : Counterfeit Lives : A Taxonomy Of Displacements Of Fiction Towards Life-writing ; Literary Impressionism And Impressionist Autobiographies : Henry James, Joseph Conrad, And Ford Madox Ford -- Modernist Auto/biografiction. Heteronymity I : Imaginary Authorship And Imaginary Autobiography : Pessoa, Joyce, Svevo ; Heteronymity Ii : Taxonomies Of Fictional Creativity : Joyce (continued) And Stein ; Auto/biographese And Auto/biografiction In Verse : Ezra Pound And Hugh Selwyn Mauberly ; Satirical Auto/biografiction : Wyndham Lewis And Richard Aldington ; Woolf, Bloomsbury, The New Biography, And The New Auto/biografiction ; After-lives : Postmodern Experiments In Meta-auto/biografiction : Sartre, Nabokov, Lessing, Byatt. Max Saunders. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [529]-553) And Index.
'I am aware that, once my pen intervenes, I can make whatever I like out of what I was.' Paul Valery, Moi.

Modernism is often characterized as a movement of impersonality; a rejection of auto/biography. But most of the major works of European modernism and postmodernism engage in very profound and central ways with questions about life-writing. Max Saunders explores the ways in which modern writers from the 1870s to the 1930s experimented with forms of life-writing - biography, autobiography, memoir, diary, journal - increasingly for the purposes of fiction. He identifies a wave of new hybrid forms from the late nineteenth century and uses the term 'autobiografiction' - discovered in a surprisingly early essay of 1906 - to provide a fresh perspective on turn-of-the-century literature, and to propose a radically new literary history of Modernism.

Saunders offers a taxonomy of the extraordinary variety of experiments with life-writing, demonstrating how they arose in the nineteenth century as the pressures of secularization and psychological theory disturbed the categories of biography and autobiography, in works by authors such as Pater, Ruskin, Proust, 'Mark Rutherford', George Gissing, and A. C. Benson. He goes on to look at writers experimenting further with autobiografiction as Impressionism turns into Modernism, juxtaposing detailed and vivacious readings of key Modernist texts by Joyce, Stein, Pound, and Woolf, with explorations of the work of other authors - including H. G. Wells, Henry James, Joseph Conrad, Ford Madox Ford, and Wyndham Lewis - whose experiments with life-writing forms are no less striking. The book concludes with a consideration of the afterlife of these fascinating experiments in the postmodern literature of Nabokov, Lessing, and Byatt.

Self Impression sheds light on a number of significant but under-theorized issues; the meanings of 'autobiographical', the generic implications of literary autobiography, and the intriguing relation between autobiography and fiction in the period.

'I am aware that, once my pen intervenes, I can make whatever I like out of what I was.' Paul Valery, Moi . Modernism is often characterized as a movement of impersonality; a rejection of auto/biography. But most of the major works of European modernism and postmodernism engage in very profound and central ways with questions about life-writing. Max Saunders explores the ways in which modern writers from the 1870s to the 1930s experimented with forms of life-writing - biography, autobiography, memoir, diary, journal - increasingly for the purposes of fiction. He identifies a wave of new hybrid forms from the late nineteenth century and uses the term 'autobiografication' - discovered in a surprisingly early essay of 1906 - to provide a fresh perspective on turn-of-the-century literature, and to propose a radically new literary history of Modernism. Saunders offers a taxonomy of the extraordinary variety of experiments with life-writing, demonstrating how they arose in the nineteenth century as the pressures of secularization and psychological theory disturbed the categories of biography and autobiography, in works by authors such as Pater, Ruskin, Proust, 'Mark Rutherford', George Gissing, and A. C. Benson. He goes on to look at writers experimenting further with autobiografiction as Impressionism turns into Modernism., juxtaposing detailed and vivacious readings of key Modernist texts by Joyce, Stein, Pound, and Woolf, with explorations of the work of other authors - including H. G. Wells, Henry James, Joseph Conrad, Ford Madox Ford, and Wyndham Lewis - whose experiments with life-writing forms are no less striking. The book concludes with a consideration of the afterlife of these fascinating experiments in the postmodern literature of Nabokov, Lessing, and Byatt. Self Impression sheds light on a number of significant but under-theorized issues; the meanings of 'autobiographical', the generic implications of literary autobiography, and the intriguing relation between autobiography and fiction in the period. I am aware that, once my pen intervenes, I can make whatever I like out of what I was.'Paul Valéry, Moi. Modernism is often characterized as a movement of impersonality; a rejection of auto/biography. But most of the major works of European modernism and postmodernism engage in very profound and central ways with questions about life-writing. Max Saunders explores the ways in which modern writers from the 1870s to the 1930s experimented with forms of life-writing - biography, autobiography, memoir, diary, journal - increasingly for the purposes of fiction. He identifies a wave of new hybrid forms from the late nineteenth century and uses the term'autobiografiction'- discovered in a surprisingly early essay of 1906 - to provide a fresh perspective on turn-of-the-century literature, and to propose a radically new literary history of Modernism. Saunders offers a taxonomy of the extraordinary variety of experiments with life-writing, demonstrating how they arose in the nineteenth century as the pressures of secularization and psychological theory disturbed the categories of biography and autobiography, in works by authors such as Pater, Ruskin, Proust,'Mark Rutherford', George Gissing, and A. C. Benson. He goes on to look at writers experimenting further with autobiografiction as Impressionism turns into Modernism, juxtaposing detailed and vivacious readings of key Modernist texts by Joyce, Stein, Pound, and Woolf, with explorations of the work of other authors - including H. G. Wells, Henry James, Joseph Conrad, Ford Madox Ford, and Wyndham Lewis - whose experiments with life-writing forms are no less striking. The book concludes with a consideration of the afterlife of these fascinating experiments in the postmodern literature of Nabokov, Lessing, and Byatt. Self Impression sheds light on a number of significant but under-theorized issues; the meanings of'autobiographical', the generic implications of literary autobiography, and the intriguing relation between autobiography and fiction in the period. This book explores how writers from the 1870s to the 1930s experimented with forms of life‐writing — biography, autobiography, memoir, diary, journal — increasingly for the purposes of fiction. It argues for an upsurge in new hybrid forms — identified in a surprisingly early essay of 1906 (which provides a key term) as ‘autobiografiction’. Examples include ‘Mark Rutherford’, Gissing, Samuel Butler, Gosse, and A. C. Benson. The book offers a taxonomy of their extraordinary variety, showing how they arose as the pressures of secularization and psychological theory disturbed the categories of biography and autobiography. It argues that a group of concepts, forms, and tropes regularly co‐exist: portraiture, imaginary portraits, collections of such portraits; and (because they are often of imaginary artists) imaginary works of art and literature. Autobiografiction also sheds strong light on modernism. Modernism is often characterized as a movement of ‘impersonality' — a rejection of auto/biography — but most of its major works engage in profound ways with questions of life‐writing. The second part looks at writers experimenting further with autobiografiction as impressionism turns into modernism, and consists of detailed readings of Joyce, Stein, Pound, Woolf, and others, and juxtaposing their work with contemporaries whose experiments with life‐writing forms are no less striking. It argues that connecting modernist games with auto/biography and the ‘New Biography’ with their turn‐of‐the‐century precursors allows them to be understood in a new way. A coda considers the after‐life of these experiments in postmodern fiction. A conclusion considers the theoretical implications developed throughout, and argues that ‘autobiografiction’ can also shed light on under‐theorized questions such as what we mean by ‘autobiographical’ and the relations between autobiography and fiction Contents 10 List of Illustrations 12 Introduction 14 PART I: MODERN IRONIZATIONS OF AUTO/BIOGRAPHY AND THE EMERGENCE OF AUTOBIOGRAFICTION: VICTORIAN AND FIN DE SIÈCLE PRECURSORS 40 1. Im/personality: The Imaginary Portraits of Walter Pater 42 2. Aesthetic Auto/biography: Ruskin and Proust 84 3. Pseudonymity, Third-personality, and Anonymity as Disturbances in fin de siècle Auto/biography: ‘Mark Rutherford’, George Gissing, Edmund Gosse and Others 121 4. Autobiografiction: Stephen Reynolds and A. C. Benson 178 5. Auto/biografiction: Counterfeit Lives: A Taxonomy of Displacements of Fiction towards Life-Writing 221 6. Literary Impressionism and Impressionist Autobiographies: Henry James, Joseph Conrad, and Ford Madox Ford 273 PART II: MODERNIST AUTO/BIOGRAFICTION 302 7. Heteronymity I: Imaginary Authorship and Imaginary Autobiography: Pessoa, Joyce, Svevo 304 8. Heteronymity II: Taxonomies of Fictional Creativity: Joyce (continued) and Stein 350 9. Auto/biographese and Auto/biografiction in Verse: Ezra Pound and Hugh Selwyn Mauberley 384 10. Satirical Auto/biografiction: Wyndham Lewis and Richard Aldington 433 11. Woolf, Bloomsbury, the ‘New Biography’, and the New Auto/biografiction 451 12. After-Lives: Postmodern Experiments in Meta-Auto/biografiction: Sartre, Nabokov, Lessing, Byatt 497 Conclusion 513 Bibliography 542 Index 568 A 568 B 568 C 569 D 569 E 569 F 570 G 570 H 571 I 571 J 571 K 572 L 572 M 572 N 573 O 573 P 573 R 574 S 575 T 576 U 576 V 576 W 576 Y 576 Z 576 Modern ironizations of auto/biography and the emergence of autobiografiction : Victorian and fin de siècle precursors. Im/personality : the imaginary portraits of Walter Pater ; Aesthetic auto/biography : Ruskin and Proust ; Pseudonymity, third-personality, and anonymity as disturbances in fin de siècle auto/biography : "Mark Rutherford", George Gissing, Edmund Gosse and Others ; Autobiografiction : Stephen Reynolds and A.C. Benson ; Auto/biografication : counterfeit lives : a taxonomy of displacements of fiction towards life-writing ; Literary impressionism and impressionist autobiographies : Henry James, Joseph Conrad, and Ford Madox Ford -- Modernist auto/biografiction. Heteronymity I : imaginary authorship and imaginary autobiography : Pessoa, Joyce, Svevo ; Heteronymity II : taxonomies of fictional creativity : Joyce (continued) and Stein ; Auto/biographese and Auto/biografiction in verse : Ezra Pound and Hugh Selwyn Mauberly ; Satirical auto/biografiction : Wyndham Lewis and Richard Aldington ; Woolf, Bloomsbury, the "New biography", and the new auto/biografiction ; After-lives : postmodern experiments in meta-auto/biografiction : Sartre, Nabokov, Lessings, Byatt