Review of Xavier Herbert: A Biography, Eleanor Dark: A Writer's Life and The Queen of Bohemia: The Autobiography of Dulcie Deamer: Being 'The Golden Decade' (Book reveiw)
Author(s)
Buckridge, Pat
Griffith University Author(s)
Year published
1999
Metadata
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Biographies of writers have maintained their popularity for many years, both here and overseas, a fact sometimes attributed to the chance they give 'busy people' to become acquainted with an author's work without having to read it. The imputation is probably unjust: many people are driven to read or reread an author's works as a direct consequence of reading a good biography. It is true, though, that biographies of writers seem to possess a range of what might be called secondary functions: they can provide not only conveniently digested samplings of the writers' work, but also serviceable frameworks for cultural historiography ...
View more >Biographies of writers have maintained their popularity for many years, both here and overseas, a fact sometimes attributed to the chance they give 'busy people' to become acquainted with an author's work without having to read it. The imputation is probably unjust: many people are driven to read or reread an author's works as a direct consequence of reading a good biography. It is true, though, that biographies of writers seem to possess a range of what might be called secondary functions: they can provide not only conveniently digested samplings of the writers' work, but also serviceable frameworks for cultural historiography and for literary history and criticism.
View less >
View more >Biographies of writers have maintained their popularity for many years, both here and overseas, a fact sometimes attributed to the chance they give 'busy people' to become acquainted with an author's work without having to read it. The imputation is probably unjust: many people are driven to read or reread an author's works as a direct consequence of reading a good biography. It is true, though, that biographies of writers seem to possess a range of what might be called secondary functions: they can provide not only conveniently digested samplings of the writers' work, but also serviceable frameworks for cultural historiography and for literary history and criticism.
View less >
Journal Title
Australian Literary Studies
Volume
19
Issue
2
Subject
Literary Studies
Historical Studies