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Biography : a very short introduction / Hermione Lee.

By: Material type: TextTextSeries: Very short introductions ; 206 | Very short introductions ; 206Publisher: Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2009Description: xii, 177 p. : ill. ; 18 cmContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 9780199533541 (pbk.)
Other title:
  • Biography
Subject(s): DDC classification:
  • 809.93592 LEE 23 009000
Online resources:
Contents:
Acknowledgements -- Poetry extract acknowledgments -- List of illustrations -- Very short introduction -- 1: Biography channel -- 2: Exemplary lives -- 3: Warts and all -- 4: National biography -- 5: Fallen idols -- 6: Against biography -- 7: Public roles -- 8: Telling the story -- References -- Bibliography -- Index.
Summary: From the Publisher: Hermione Lee is one of the leading literary biographers in the English-speaking world, the author of widely acclaimed lives of Edith Wharton and Virginia Woolf. Now, in this Very Short Introduction, Lee provides a magnificent look at the genre in which she is an undisputed master-the art of biography. Here Lee considers the cultural and historical background of different types of biographies, looks at the factors that affect biographers, and asks whether there are different strategies, ethics, and principles required for writing about one person compared to another. She also discusses contemporary biographical publications and considers what kind of "lives" are the most popular and in demand. And along the way, she answers such questions as why do certain people and historical events arouse so much interest? How can biographies be compared with history and works of fiction? Does a biography need to be true? Is it acceptable to omit or conceal things? Does the biographer need to personally know the subject? Must a biographer be subjective?
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Holdings
Item type Current library Call number Status Date due Barcode
Book Book Indian Institute for Human Settlements, Bangalore 809.93592 LEE 009000 (Browse shelf(Opens below)) Available 009000

Includes bibliographical references (p. 141-166) and index.

Acknowledgements --
Poetry extract acknowledgments --
List of illustrations --
Very short introduction --
1: Biography channel --
2: Exemplary lives --
3: Warts and all --
4: National biography --
5: Fallen idols --
6: Against biography --
7: Public roles --
8: Telling the story --
References --
Bibliography --
Index.

From the Publisher: Hermione Lee is one of the leading literary biographers in the English-speaking world, the author of widely acclaimed lives of Edith Wharton and Virginia Woolf. Now, in this Very Short Introduction, Lee provides a magnificent look at the genre in which she is an undisputed master-the art of biography. Here Lee considers the cultural and historical background of different types of biographies, looks at the factors that affect biographers, and asks whether there are different strategies, ethics, and principles required for writing about one person compared to another. She also discusses contemporary biographical publications and considers what kind of "lives" are the most popular and in demand. And along the way, she answers such questions as why do certain people and historical events arouse so much interest? How can biographies be compared with history and works of fiction? Does a biography need to be true? Is it acceptable to omit or conceal things? Does the biographer need to personally know the subject? Must a biographer be subjective?

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