Synopses & Reviews
Jonathan Swift is best remembered today as the author of
Gulliverandrsquo;s Travels, the satiric fantasy that quickly became a classic and has remained in print for nearly three centuries. Yet Swift also wrote many other influential works, was a major political and religious figure in his time, and became a national hero, beloved for his fierce protest against English exploitation of his native Ireland. What is really known today about the enigmatic man behind these accomplishments? Can the facts of his life be separated from the fictions?
In this deeply researched biography, Leo Damrosch draws on discoveries made over the past thirty years to tell the story of Swiftandrsquo;s life anew. Probing holes in the existing evidence, he takes seriously some daring speculations about Swiftandrsquo;s parentage, love life, and various personal relationships and shows how Swiftandrsquo;s public version of his lifeandmdash;the one accepted until recentlyandmdash;was deliberately misleading. Swift concealed aspects of himself and his relationships, and other people in his life helped to keep his secrets.
Assembling suggestive clues, Damrosch re-narrates the events of Swiftandrsquo;s life while making vivid the sights, sounds, and smells of his English and Irish surroundings.Through his own words and those of a wide circle of friends, a complex Swift emerges: a restless, combative, empathetic figure, a man of biting wit and powerful mind, and a major figure in the history of world letters.
Review
Praise for
Jean-Jacques Rousseau“A delight to read”—Stacy Schiff, New York Times Book Review
Stacy Schiff
Review
“A magnificent accomplishment.”—Alan Helms,
The Boston Globe Alan Helms
Review
“Leo Damrosch conjures up Jonathan Swift with hallucinatory vividness, allowing the contradictions of this baffling, elusive genius full rein. He recovers in rich detail the world in which Gulliver's Travels and other enduring masterpieces were created. This is a brilliant and humane biography.”—Stephen Greenblatt, author of The Swerve: How the World Became Modern PROSE Awards - American Publishers Awards for Professional and Scholarly Excellence
Review
"Thoroughly researched, vividly written and convincingly argued, Leo Damrosch's new biography of Jonathan Swift more than holds its own among such great predecessors as Walter Scott and Irvin Ehrenpreis, and presents a standard that contemporary scholarly prose is rarely capable of matching."—Robert Mahony, The Catholic University of America Stephen Greenblatt
Review
Praise for Jean-Jacques Rousseau: Restless Genius
“The erratic, inventive urgency of the life is all here. A delight to read”—Stacy Schiff, New York Times Book Review
Stacy Schiff
Review
“A magnificent accomplishment. It's supremely intelligent and well written, exhaustively researched, well shaped, and judiciously even-handed”—Alan Helms, The Boston Globe
Alan Helms
Review
"An important book, but also a provocative and exceptionally entertaining one."—Michael Dirda, Washington Post The Boston Globe
Review
"[A] scintillating new book."—James Wood, The New Yorker James Wood
Review
"Immensely enjoyable and fast-paced."—Louis Menand, author of The Metaphysical Club Robert Mahony
Review
Praise for
Tocqueville's Discovery of America
"[A] scintillating new book."—James Wood, The New Yorker James Wood
Review
“The human young Tocqueville is much more impressive than the cold abstraction, and for helping to bring him to life we are in Leo Damroschs debt.” —Sean Wilentz,
The American Prospect Sean Wilentz
Review
“An excellent book. Leo Damrosch . . . writes entertainingly and is comfortable with political and philosophical ideas as well as with literary matters."—Michael Dirda, Washington Post Pat Rogers - New Criterion
Review
and#8220;[A] commanding new biography . . . Damrosch is gifted with a fluent style, sturdy sense of humor."and#8212;John Simon, New York Times Book Review (Editor's Choice)
Review
and#8220;Damrosch tells this story . . . with great energy and elegantly worn erudition. He restores to Swift the dignity he deserves, reminding us that the really shocking things about him lie not in his life but in his work.and#8221;and#8212;Fintan O'Toole, New York Review of Books
Review
andldquo;[S]uperb. . . . Damroschandrsquo;s outstanding book has raised Swiftandrsquo;s provocative genius to life. . . .andnbsp;Damrosch has brought [Swiftandrsquo;s] vision into sharp focus and exposed its disquieting relevance.andrdquo;andmdash;Jeffrey Collins, Wall Street Journal
Review
A Best Book of 2013, The Daily Beast, literary editor Lucas Wittmann Jeffrey Collins - Wall Street Journal - New York Times 100 Notable Book List of 2013
Review
Received an Honorable Mention for the 2013 American Publishers Awards for Professional and Scholarly Excellence (PROSE), in the Biography and Autobiography category. The Daily Beast
Review
This “lively new biography” by “the immensely talented biographer Leo Damrosch” is “piercingly intelligent . . . [and] will surely be the definitive one-volume Swift biography of our time.”—Steve Donoghue, Open Letters Monthly Louis Menand
Review
and#8220;Damrosch is incisive about Swiftand#8217;s personality . . . and writes with fine Swiftian clarity, but does not simplify. He acknowledges that, investigating Swift, you run into a revolving door of contradictions. . . . But Damrosch sees him, rightly, not just as a tragic figure but as a fearless thinker whose works are an antidote to optimism's happy lies.and#8221; and#8212; John Carey, London Sunday Times
Review
"A fine biography. . . . Damrosch is an ingenious, learned hypothesizer on matters lost to history and an adept guide to Swift's works. . . . Even Swift's contemporaries were, often enough, not sure what to make of them. One such called Swift 'my hieroglyphic friend.' And that's fine with me. Let the mystery continue, the interpretations and speculations flourish, and the greatest ironist in the English language continue to be read and puzzled over."—Katherine A. Powers, Barnes and Noble Review John Carey - The Sunday Times
Review
and#8220;Damroschand#8217;s approach is forensic. . .For me the Swift who emerges from these patient investigations is a more rounded personality.and#8221;and#8212;George Walden, The Times
Review
“We live in an age when we sorely need a Swift; instead we have Jon Stewart. Modest recompense is to be found in Leo Damroschs new life of Swift.”—Lucas Wittmann, The Daily Beast George Walden - The Times
Review
“A feisty, first-class life of the sage and scourge of English literature. . . . Damrosch is bent on both correcting the record and adding to it, creating a fresh and vivid life even as he wrestles with previous biographers. . . . This is the kind of biography where you come to feel you know the subject personally. A rich and rewarding portrait of an irreplaceable genius.”—Kirkus Reviews, starred review Lucas Wittmann - The Daily Beast
Review
and#8220;Convincing and vivid. . . . Damrosch has . . . let us glimpse the human roots of Swiftand#8217;s sometimes inhuman irony.and#8221;and#8212;John Mullan, The Guardian
Review
“The enigma of Swifts life and character continues to tease us. This magisterial biography reminded me how much, in his writings, there is to relish - even outside the mainstream of the great, the immortal, works.”—A. N. Wilson, The Tablet John Mullan - The Guardian
Review
“Leo Damrosch's. . . wonderful and absorbing biography of Swift . . [is] by far the most balanced, nuanced and persuasive biography of Swift so far. Damrosch is a fine scholar who knows Swifts works and his age very well indeed. . .It should remind the reader what a wonderful writer Swift is and send us enthusiastically back to the texts - something few biographies ever succeed in doing.”—Andrew Carpenter, Irish Times A. N. Wilson - The Tablet
Review
'Leo Damrosch has written a conscientious and worthy book, full of meat and handsomely illustrated.'—Paul Johnson, Literary Review Andrew Carpenter - Irish Times
Review
“Masterly in its control of the material, . . . contriving to blend informality with solid argumentation. . . . Excellent passages are devoted to A Tale of a Tub, The Drapiers Letters, A Modest Proposal, and above all Gullivers Travels. . . . What Damrosch has given us is superior to anything that has gone before, in its mastery of all aspects of the subject, . . . a work where everyone will find a fascinating store of information and enjoyment.” — Pat Rogers, New Criterion Paul Johnson - Literary Review
Review
Winner of the 2013 National Book Critics Circle Award in the category of Biography. Michael Dirda - Washington Post
Review
“Damroschs tolerance for mystery is one of the outstanding features of his spellbinding biography. . . . Such questions are a sign of scrupulous intellectual integrity. They also deepen Damroschs narrative, giving us a visceral sense of biographys essential tasks, which are not only to solve a lifes puzzles but to remark them. . . . Swifts passions still burn through Gullivers uncanny adventures, and in Damroschs exceptional book.”—Marcela Valdes, Critical Mass: The Blog of the National Book Critics Circle NBCC - National book critics circle
Review
"Damrosch writes with wit and constructs a compelling portrait of the Irish clergyman, whose satires delighted and scandalized eighteenth-century Britain." —New Yorker, "Briefly Noted" Marcela Valdes - Critical Mass
Review
“Masterly in its control, . . . contriving to blend informality with solid argumentation. . . . What Damrosch has given us is superior to anything that has gone before, in . . . a work where everyone will find a fascinating store of information and enjoyment.”—Pat Rogers, New Criterion New Yorker
Review
and#8216;If Damrosch follows Ehrenpreis in anything, itand#8217;s in the ambition, indicated by his and#8216;life and worldand#8217; subtitle, to ground biography in social context. He does that job with efficiency and a sure touch.and#8217;and#8212;Thomas Keymer, London Review of Books
Review
and#8220;[Damrosch] writes elegantly, has exactly the right mix of empathy and detachment, and is admirably open-minded in his approach to complex evidence and#8211; some of it the product of very new scholarship. . .andnbsp;this will be the definitive life of Swift for years to come.and#8221;and#8212;Jonathan Bate, New Statesman
Review
andlsquo;. . .an oxygenated account that blows fresh air on Swift, the most readable account in recent timesandrsquo; andmdash;Brean Hammond, History Today
Review
and#39;The book, far from being a dry academic analysis based on sketchy records, is a romp through the years when Britain became established as a world power. . .Damrosch writes with wry humour and clarity of detail, often cuttingly disputing the theories of previous Swift biographers. To read this hefty book is to get a highly enjoyable education.andrsquo;andmdash;Claire Looby, The Irish Times
Review
andquot;Leo Damroschandrsquo;s luminous new book on William Blake forsakes esoteric scholarship and addresses itself to the common reader who is invited to a festive celebration of the great English poet who was also an extraordinary visual artist and a profound and original thinker.andquot;andmdash;Harold Bloom
Review
andldquo;This astute, generously illustrated study is an excellent introduction to William Blake. It will help both new and experienced readers to understand Blake as poet, painter, engraver, printerandmdash;and as a person.andrdquo;andmdash;Andrew Lincoln, Queen Mary University of London
Review
andldquo;Acclaimed scholar and biographer Damrosch brings decades of study to this analysis of William Blakeand#39;s art, poetry, religion, and philosophy. . . . The authorand#39;s study of the man and clear style makes this much easier to read and tempts readers to seek out more. . . . Damrosch expertly navigates Blakeand#39;s andlsquo;questing imagination,andrsquo; which andlsquo;has never ceased to startle and inspire.andrsquo; General readers looking for a challenge will love this book and will dive into Blakeand#39;s work.andrdquo;andmdash;Kirkus Reviews, starred review
Review
andldquo;Damroschandrsquo;s readings are nuanced, sensitive, and deeply perceptive, touched with wonder at the poetandrsquo;s originality and alive to the ways that Blakeandrsquo;s beliefs presented andlsquo;a wide-ranging challenge to orthodox morality.andrsquo; With generous illustrations, including a gallery of breathtaking full-color plates, Damroschandrsquo;s study will build an appreciation among scholars and general readers alike for Blakeandrsquo;s andlsquo;vast, complicated mythandrsquo; and reinforce his place in the Western canon as a andlsquo;profound thinkerandrsquo; and creative genius andlsquo;not in a single art but in two.andrsquo;andrdquo;andmdash;Publishers Weekly, starred review
Synopsis
From a master biographer and leading scholar of eighteenth-century literature comesand#160;an award-winningand#160;new portrait of the greatest satirist in the English language
Synopsis
In this richly illustrated portrait, a prize-winning biographer surveys the entire sweep of William Blakeandrsquo;s creative work while telling the story of his life
Synopsis
William Blake, overlooked in his time, remains an enigmatic figure to contemporary readers despite his near canonical status. Out of a wounding sense of alienation and dividedness he created a profoundly original symbolic language, in which words and images unite in a unique interpretation of self and society. He was a counterculture prophet whose art still challenges us to think afresh about almost every aspect of experienceandmdash;social, political, philosophical, religious, erotic, and aesthetic. He believed that we live in the midst of Eternity here and now, and that if we could open our consciousness to the fullness of being, it would be like experiencing a sunrise that never ends.
and#160;
Following Blakeandrsquo;s life from beginning to end, acclaimed biographer Leo Damrosch draws extensively on Blakeandrsquo;s poems, his paintings, and his etchings and engravings to offer this generously illustrated account of Blake the man and his vision of our world. The authorandrsquo;s goal is to inspire the reader with the passion he has for his subject, achieving the imaginative response that Blake himself sought to excite. The book is an invitation to understanding and enjoyment, an invitation to appreciate Blakeandrsquo;s imaginative world and, in so doing, to open the doors of our perception.
About the Author
Praise for Leo Damroschandrsquo;s
Jonathan Swift: His Life and World andldquo;This will be the definitive life of Swift for years to come.andrdquo;andmdash;Jonathan Bate, New Statesman
andldquo;Superb. . . . Damroschandrsquo;s outstanding book has raised Swiftandrsquo;s provocative genius to life. . . . Damrosch has brought [Swiftandrsquo;s] vision into sharp focus and exposed its disquieting relevance.andrdquo;andmdash;Jeffrey Collins, Wall Street Journal
andldquo;[A] commanding new biography. . . . Damrosch is gifted with a fluent style [and] sturdy sense of humor.andrdquo;andmdash;John Simon, New York Times Book Review (Editorandrsquo;s Choice)
and#160;andldquo;Damrosch tells this story . . . with great energy and elegantly worn erudition. He restores to Swift the dignity he deserves, reminding us that the really shocking things about him lie not in his life but in his work.andrdquo;andmdash;Fintan Oandrsquo;Toole, New York Review of Books
andldquo;Leo Damrosch conjures up Jonathan Swift with hallucinatory vividness, allowing the contradictions of this baffling, elusive genius full rein. He recovers in rich detail the world in which Gulliverand#39;s Travels and other enduring masterpieces were created. This is a brilliant and humane biography.andrdquo;andmdash;Stephen Greenblatt, author of The Swerve: How the World Became Modern
and#160;andldquo;A lively and pleasurable experience: vigorous, compassionate, occasionally pugnacious, sometimes laugh-out-loud funny. . . . Damroschandrsquo;s book, and the centuries-old voices in it, are alive and talking to us.andrdquo;andmdash;Laura Collins-Hughes, Boston Globe
and#160;
- Winner of the 2013 National Book Critics Circle Award for Biography
- A New York Times Notable Book of 2013
- Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and Plutarch Award
- Named a Best Book of 2013 by the Daily Beast literary editor Lucas Wittmann