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Overview
Building on his enormously successful series of Philosophers in 90 Minutes, Paul Strathern now applies his witty and incisive prose to brief biographical studies of the world's great writers. He brings their lives and ideas to life in entertaining and accessible fashion. Far from being a novelty, each book is a highly refined appraisal of the writer and his work, authoritative and clearly presented.
Synopsis
Building on his enormously successful series of Philosophers in 90 Minutes, Paul Strathern now applies his witty and incisive prose to brief biographical studies of the world's great writers. He brings their lives and ideas to life in entertaining and accessible fashion. Far from being a novelty, each book is a highly refined appraisal of the writer and his work, authoritative and clearly presented.
Library Bookwatch
"Perfect for both general interest and high school collections."
Editorials
The Tennessean
These books are not mere outlines for dummies. They're lucid narratives.— Brian J. Buchanan
Boston Globe
Witty and dramatic…I cannot think of a better way to introduce oneself and one's friends to Western civilization.Library Bookwatch
"Perfect for both general interest and high school collections."New York Times
Promise[s] to get readers up to speed…in 100 pages or so with no dumbing down.KLIATT
Strathern captures the essence of Virginia Woolf in examining both the causes and effects of her "constant battle against mental illness" as well as her "lucid periods" during which she produced "some of the finest literary works of the early twentieth century." The major portion of the text is devoted to the life and works of Woolf. Given the limitations implicit in the brevity of this series, Strathern manages to convey essential information and astute analysis in readable prose. He discusses the Bloomsbury Group, "a privileged circle of upper-middle-class writers, artists, and philosophers," and the effect of their "progressive social attitudes" on the young Virginia Woolf. It is through the Bloomsbury Group that Virginia met Leonard Woolf, with whom she shared a sexless marriage. Strathern also discusses her love affair with Vita Sackville-West, for whom Woolf wrote the novel Orlando. Strathern is equally adept at exploring the ways in which Woolf abandoned "the conventional form of the novel" in an attempt to express herself and her vision of the world. He assesses To the Lighthouse as her "first masterpiece" in fiction and the nonfiction A Room of One's Own as a "formative feminist text." In his afterword, Strathern places Woolf second only to James Joyce among the writers of the period. (Great Writers in 90 Minutes). KLIATT Codes: SA—Recommended for senior high school students, advanced students, and adults. 2005, Ivan R. Dee, 124p. bibliog. index., Ages 15 to adult.—Anthony Pucci