Sidetracks
Explorations of a Romantic Biographer
by Richard Holmes
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Editions of Sidetracks
 |
ISBN |
Binding/Format Hardcover |
Publisher Random House Inc |
Date 2000 |
Price $1.14 |
 Good |
 |
ISBN |
Binding/Format Paperback |
Publisher Vintage Books |
Date 2001 |
Price $6.00 |
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Publisher Notes
With this collection of short and fascinating biographical pieces, the award-winning biographer of Coleridge and Shelley offers a fascinating glimpse into the mysterious art of biography.
When researching, Richard Holmes has often become captivated by figures peripheral to his main subject, literary forays that he couldn’t resist. These tales–the forbidden love of John Stuart Mill, the bizarre novel of Oscar Wilde’s tragic grand-uncle, Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald’s nightmarish yet cathartic final trip to Paris–are part of what comprises Sidetracks, a marvelously original that includes letters and travelogues, radio plays, essays, and minature biographies. This book is a rare literary feast and an exploration of the creative processes of one of our most preeminent biographers.
Media Reviews
"Lovers of true romance will not be disappointed by Holmes's latest installment."
First Line
As he walked down the Strand one surprisingly sunny morning in March, examining the patriotic engravings of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert smiling domestically from the royal Tilbury, Théophile Gautier came upon a barrow boy selling water-proof mackintoshes. It was a matter of generally received knowledge that the imperméab1e, like those other viscous phenomena--the English glass of stout, the English fog, and the English phlegm, contained something of the philosophical essence of Britain. So Théophile Gautier, poet, litterateur, and--more practically-- regular columnist for Paris's leading daily newspaper La Presse, drew aside to observe.
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