Autobiographies Of Others

This book studies the tension between historicity and the desire to free the subject from historical necessity that defines novels that are presented as if they were the autobiographies of historical personages, novels that gesture towards historical factuality and literary fictionality. Boldrini visits autobiographies of others, or ‘heterobiographies,’that are distinguished by the acknowledgment in their fictional structure and ideological premises of the operation involved in assuming another’s voice, of the historical and philosophical gap inherent in the ‘double I’ they stage. Unlike more traditional examples of the historical/biographical novel, their aim is not so much the reconstruction of a historically believable context and individual, but the very exploration of that gap: of changing conceptions of selfhood; of the relationships between writing, history, and subjectivity; and of the intellectual categories that shape our understanding of these relationships. The analysis of texts by authors such as David Malouf, Peter Carey, Michael Ondaatje, Gilbert Adair, Anna Banti, and Manuel Vázquez Montalbán shows that heterobiography is a powerful literary and intellectual tool employed to reflect critically on cultural, historical, and philosophical constructions of the human; on individual identity, its representations, and its formation through dialogue with the other; on the relationships of power that define the subject socially and legally; of the ethics of the voice and the ethical implications of literary practices of representation; and, therefore, also on the social, political, and cultural role of the literary writer.

In this volume, Boldrini examines "heterobiography"—the first-person fictional account of a historic life. Boldrini shows that this mode is widely employed to reflect critically on the historical and philosophical understanding of the human; on individual identity; and on the power relationships that define the subject. In such texts, the grammatical first person becomes the site of an encounter, a stage where the relationships between historical, fictional and authorial subjectivities are played out and explored in the ‘double I’ of author and narrating historical character, of fictional narrator and historical person. Boldrini considers the ethical implications of assuming another’s first-person voice, and the fraught issue of authorial responsibility. Constructions of the body are examined in relation to the material evidence of the subject’s existence. Texts studied include Malouf’s An Imaginary Life, Carey’s True History of the Kelly Gang, Ondaatje’s The Collected Works of Billy the Kid, Adair’s The Death of the Author, Banti’s Artemisia, Vázquez Montalbán’s Autobiografía del general Franco. Also discussed, among others: Yourcenar’s Memoirs of Hadrian, Tabucchi’s The Last Three Days of Fernando Pessoa, Giménez-Bartlett’s Una habitación ajena (A Room of Someone Else’s).

In her own words, the legendary American icon who overcame adversity to become a brilliant writer and powerful advocate for the disabled: The Story of My Life, The World I Live In, plus a dozen revealing personal letters, public speeches, essays, and more Here, in a deluxe hardcover edition, is the inspiring story of an American icon—“the greatest woman of our age,” as Winston Churchill put it—in her own words. The Story of My Life (1903), published just before she became the first deaf-blind college graduate in the United States, brought Helen Keller worldwide fame, and has remained a touchstone for generations. Recounting her astonishing relationship with her teacher, Annie Sullivan, "the Miracle Worker," it offers still-vivid testimony of the transformative power of love and faith in overcoming adversity. Keller’s underappreciated literary artistry and philosophical acumen are especially evident in the personal essays that make up The World I Live In (1908): exploring her own “disability,” she reflects profoundly on language, thinking, dreams, belief, and the relations between the senses. Also included are more than a dozen letters, speeches, essays, and other works—most of them from out-of-print, uncollected, or previously unpublished sources—charting more than 50 years of Keller’s exemplary life and career. These pieces reveal her commitments to women’s rights, workers’ rights, racial justice, and peace, as well as her advocacy for the disabled. Kim E. Nielsen, Keller’s biographer and the author of A Disability History of the United States, introduces the volume, which includes a 16-page portfolio of photographs and a newly researched chronology of Keller’s life, along with authoritative notes and an index.

This "rich autobiographical and historical panorama" ("Wall Street Journal") provides a memorable and lively account of the lives of the Friedmans: their involvement with world leaders and many of this century's most important public policy issues. 26 photos.

Useful Toil engages freshly and directly with the `ordinary' people of the nineteenth century. John Burnett has assembled twenty seven telling extracts from the diaries and autobiographies of working people - wheelwrights and stone-masons, miners and munition workers, butlers and kitchen maids, navvies, carpenters, potters and ship assistants to list only a few. The men and women who speak in these pages concentrate on their working experiences, though they also write about their homes and their fears. They thus reveal, often unconsciously, the essence of their attitudes, values and beliefs. Burnett's broad and sympathetic introductions focus and contextualise the wealth of material. These stories provide the antithesis of `great name' history, yet they constantly touch on human experiences that are timeless and universal.

This extensive collection of autobiographical writings by the author of The Turn of the Screw and The Portrait of a Lady offers a revelatory self-portrait and an inside glimpse into his famous family In 1911, deeply affected by the death of his brother William the year before, Henry James began working on a book about his early life. As was customary for James in his later years, he dictated his recollections to his secretary Theodora Bosanquet, who recalled how “a straight dive into the past brought to the surface treasure after treasure.” A Small Boy and Others (1913) and the two autobiographical books that followed—Notes of a Son and Brother (1914) and the incomplete, posthumously published The Middle Years—stand with his later novels as one of the enduring triumphs of his final years. Not only did James create one of the singular self-portraits in American literature, he also fashioned a richly detailed account of his renowned family, especially his father, the social philosopher Henry James Sr., his brother William, and his dear cousin Minny Temple, inspiration for the heroines of two of his greatest novels, The Portrait of a Lady and The Wings of the Dove. Rounding out the volume is a selection of eight other personal reminiscences and, as an appendix, his secretary’s insightful and affectionate memoir, “Henry James at Work.” LIBRARY OF AMERICA is an independent nonprofit cultural organization founded in 1979 to preserve our nation’s literary heritage by publishing, and keeping permanently in print, America’s best and most significant writing. The Library of America series includes more than 300 volumes to date, authoritative editions that average 1,000 pages in length, feature cloth covers, sewn bindings, and ribbon markers, and are printed on premium acid-free paper that will last for centuries.

A collection of Puritan spiritual biographies documents the search for proof of God's favor, in all its personal and psychological intensity.

Explores the lives of eight pioneering women photographers to consider the struggles, perils, and rewards of being a woman artist.