Diplomacy and the Modern Novel France, Britain, and the Mission of Literature
Innbundet /
2020
/ Engelsk
Produktdetaljer
ISBN
9781487508098
Publisert
2020-10-16
Utgiver
Vendor
University of Toronto Press
Vekt
500 gr
Høyde
231 mm
Bredde
157 mm
Dybde
23 mm
Aldersnivå
U, P, 05, 06
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Innbundet
Om bidragsyterne
Isabelle Daunais is a Canada Research Chair and professor in the Department of French Literature at McGill University. Allan Hepburn is the James McGill Professor of Twentieth-Century Literature at McGill University.
Between 1900 and 1960, many writers in France and Britain either had parallel careers in diplomatic corps or frequented diplomatic circles: Paul Claudel, Albert Cohen, Lawrence Durrell, Graham Greene, John le Carré, André Malraux, Nancy Mitford, Marcel Proust, and others. What attracts writers to diplomacy, and what attracts diplomats to publishing their experiences in memoirs or novels? Like novelists, diplomats are in the habit of describing situations with an eye for atmosphere, personalities, and looming crises. Yet novels about diplomats, far from putting a solemn face on everything, often devolve into comedy if not outright farce. Anachronistic yet charming, diplomats take the long view of history and social transformation, which puts them out of step with their times – at least in fiction. In this collection of essays, eleven contributors reflect on diplomacy in French and British novels, with particular focus on temporality, style, comedy, characterization, and the professional liabilities attached to representing a state abroad. With archival examples as evidence, the essays in this volume indicate that modern fiction, especially fiction about diplomacy, is a response to the increasing speed of communication, the decline of imperial power, and the ceding of old ways of negotiating to new.
Les mer
Why have so many diplomats been writers? Why have so many writers served as diplomats? This book provides some fascinating insights into the connections between literature and diplomacy.
Acknowledgments The Mission of Literature: Modern Novels and Diplomacy Allan Hepburn, McGill University Part One: Diplomatic Experience 1. Making a Song and Dance of It: Staging Diplomacy in William Gerhardi’s Early NovelsClaire Davison, Université Sorbonne Nouvelle 2. The League of Nations as Seen by Albert Cohen: A User’s Guide to Social MagicMaxime Decout, Université de Lille 3. Modern Negotiations: Harold Nicolson’s Peacemaking 1919 and Public FacesCaroline Z. Krzakowski, Northern Michigan University Part Two: Novels and Diplomacy 4. Diplomatic Dispatch Style: Towards a New Aesthetic of the Novel Isabelle Daunais, McGill University 5. Conrad’s Politics of Idealism: Diplomacy without DiplomatsStephen Ross, University of Victoria 6. André Gide and the Art of Evasion Michel Biron, McGill University Part Three: Documents 7. Proust’s Epistolary Diplomacy: Antoine Bibesco, René Peter, and “Salaïsme”François Proulx, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 8. The Art of Conversation: Nancy Mitford, France, and Cultural DiplomacyAllan Hepburn, McGill University Part Four: Foreign Affairs 9. Action, Diplomacy, Art: André Malraux and Graham GreeneRobert L. Caserio, Pennsylvania State University 10. Mythography and Diplomacy in Works by Ian Fleming and John le CarréMaxime Prévost, University of Ottawa 11. Lawrence Durrell: Diplomacy as Farce Maria DiBattista, Princeton University Works Cited ContributorsIndex
Les mer
"Diplomacy and the Modern Novel is a strong contribution to twentieth century scholarly studies and Modernism. It addresses compelling connections between diplomacy and the novel in terms of style and representation across a range of texts."
Les mer
Produktdetaljer
ISBN
9781487508098
Publisert
2020-10-16
Utgiver
Vendor
University of Toronto Press
Vekt
500 gr
Høyde
231 mm
Bredde
157 mm
Dybde
23 mm
Aldersnivå
U, P, 05, 06
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Innbundet