Publication date:
01 May 2011Length of book:
360 pagesPublisher
Manchester University PressDimensions:
234x156mmISBN-13: 9780719085215
These lively and candid letters from Rose Macaulay to her first cousin Jean Smith are previously unknown. Macaulay was one of the most versatile, successful, and significant writers in the first half of the twentieth century, Smith a talented but diffident and depressive poet who was briefly an Anglican nun before converting to Roman Catholicism. The letters throw fascinating and often amusing light not only on the writer’s private life, unconventional character, and varied career, but also on the lively literary and social circles in which she moved. They are essential reading for all interested in British literary culture and women’s writing.
“These ‘new’ letters … illuminate the writer’s life and career, and the literary and social scene, especially in the years that followed the First World War.”
Sir Simon Jenkins
“Offers fascinating insights into the 20th-century cultural scene.”
Choice
“Full of previously buried treasure.”
A.N. Wilson
“A valuable addition to our knowledge of Macaulay.”
TLS
“Sparkles with wit … highly recommended.”
English Studies
“Superbly edited.”
The Tablet
“Wonderfully expansive notes … decorate the letters like illuminated miniatures.”
Church Times