This book is a defense of authorship--authorship whose public works proceed from and incorporate private lives. Examining the question of the presence of authors in their writings, and of certain authors in the writings of others, Miller focuses on the memorial writings of Louisa Stuart (1757-1851) and Primo Levi, and the work of a wide variety of other authors, including Cervantes, Samuel Richardson, V.S. Naipaul, Kingsley Amis, Peter Ackroyd, Milan Kundera, Ryszard Kapuscinski, and James Kelman. Originally published to coincide with the tenth anniversary of the London Review of Books, the book also touches on the opinions and idiosyncrasy of authors; imitation, replication, and pastiche; ghosts; Hamlet and its enduring popularity; recent authorial crises and case histories; and literary journalism.

Authors

MILLER, Karl

Reference

Oxford University Press

This fascinating study explores the image of the double as it appears in literature, examining the doppelgänger, the alter ego, the second self, and the modern multiple self in a wide variety of literary settings. Focusing mainly on the Romantic period, the fin-de-siècle, and what could be called the romantic modern world, Miller considers a broad array of subjects, including the equivocal language of Romanticism, the orphan delirium of the Gothic heritage, the themes of isolation, escape, and the after-life, and the phenomena of secrecy and literary anonymity. Over twenty authors are examined in detail, including Poe, Dickens, Dostoyevsky, Henry James, Robert Frost, Sylvia Plath, Norman Mailer, and Saul Bellow.

Doubles: Studies in Literary History

History

In "The Three Hostages" (1924) Richard Hannay leaves his quiet and happy family life in the countryside to face the most evil opponent of his career. Dominick Medina, a seductive fallen angel, a master of thought control, and trusted by many of Britain's leaders, is a twisted product of the years shattered by war in Europe. In this `shocker', which is also a sophisticated masquerade, Hannay must use all his ingenuity to save not only three innocent hostages but also his own life - and his sanity. "The Three Hostages" explores the psychological consequences of war and the world of international business crime. In his introduction Karl Miller puts this swift and sinister novel in its idelological and literary context, drawing some eerie parallels with the threats and fears that face us today. This book is intended for students of Edwardian fiction.

The Three Hostages (The World's Classics)

Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

Buchan, John A.

Mystery

Oxford Univ. Pr.

This book is a defense of authorship--authorship whose public works proceed from and incorporate private lives. Examining the question of the presence of authors in their writings, and of certain authors in the writings of others, Miller focuses on the memorial writings of Louisa Stuart (1757-1851) and Primo Levi, and the work of a wide variety of other authors, including Cervantes, Samuel Richardson, V.S. Naipaul, Kingsley Amis, Peter Ackroyd, Milan Kundera, Ryszard Kapuscinski, and James Kelman. Published to coincide with the tenth anniversary of the London Review of Books, the book also touches on the opinions and idiosyncrasy of authors; imitation, replication, and pastiche;  ghosts; Hamlet and its enduring popularity; recent authorial crises and case histories;  and literary journalism.

This book examines a literary tradition that stretches from antiquity to last week's best-seller list: the alter ego, the second self, of doppelganger--the imagination of two (or more) selves in one. Miller studies literary masterpieces and real-life cases and argues that literature itself is a duality, that is the double who writes the novels and has been implicated from the first in the cultivation of uncertainty that distinguishes moden literature. Opening with an account of one of the tradition's leading text, James Hogg's Confessions of a Justified Sinner, Miller goes on to treat the equivocal language of Romanticism, the orphan delirium of the Gothic heritage, the themes of isolation, escape, and the after-life, secrecy and literary anonymity, then Anglo-American dualistic consensus, and the important role played by dual nationality in the tradition. Included are essays on Poe, Dickens, Dostoevsky, Henry James, Edith Wharton, Robert Frost, Robert Lowell, Sylvia Plath, Norma Mailer, and Saul Bellow, and this fascinating study concludes with a discussion of recent first-hand experiences of the divided self.

Literature & Fiction

Dark horses: An experience of literary journalism

This is a memoir of a literary life, written by an author who has worked with respected modern writers.

Biographies & Memoirs

Picador

A Listener anthology, August 1967 - June 1970

British Broadcasting Corporation

A second Listener anthology

British Broadcasting Corp.

With no schooling after the age of seven, Hogg struggled to form his own letters and taught himself the violin to while away the lonely hours working with his flock. Yet he went on to number literary giants such as Wordsworth, Coleridge and Walter Scott among his friends and acquaintances, to become a poet and novelist and to run a short-lived literary magazine called "Spy", the tone of which proved too robust for polite Edinburgh society. Having fathered two children, he married for the first time aged 50, to a woman 20 years his junior. Karl Miller's biography restores this overlooked figure to his rightful place in the literary history of Scotland.

Electric shepherd: a likeness of James Hogg

Faber and Faber

Memoirs of a Modern Scotland

Europe

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by MILLER, Karl. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by MILLER, Karl

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by MILLER, Karl. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Authors

Doubles: Studies in Literary History

The Three Hostages (The World's Classics)

Authors

Doubles: Studies in Literary History

Dark horses: An experience of literary journalism

A Listener anthology, August 1967 - June 1970

A second Listener anthology

Electric shepherd: a likeness of James Hogg

Memoirs of a Modern Scotland