Long Description
Most theories of interpretation and editing depend on a concept of single authorship. But literary works can and frequently do have multiple authors, sometimes with divided and even conflicting intentions among them.Stillinger explores multiple authorship in the case of Keats and his helpers who assisted in the creation of Isabella; John Stuart Mill and his wife in the writing of Mill's Autobiography; the author revising earlier versions of himself, as with Wordsworth in The Prelude; and the author interacting collaboratively with sources and influences (Coleridge in Biographia Literaria).Review Quote
"Authoritative scholarly study - balanced, readable, knowledgeable,skillfully argued, and soundly documented."--Studies in RomanticismReview Quote
"It is refreshing...to see the case against 'genius' or authorial autonomymade in so straightforwardly empirical a fashion, with a good editor'scharacteristic fidelity to awkward particulars."--Times LiterarySupplementReview Quote
"It is the major achievement of Stillinger's book to detail the facts ofmultiple authorship that we have been either too blind to see or too prisoned inour romantic myth of authorship to acknowledge....A clear theory of multiplicityrelies upon such scholarly identification of authors and versions as Stillingerhimself has so brilliantly exemplified."--Wordsworth CircleReview Quote
"Jack Stillinger has written a remarkable book. It ought to have awrenching effect on literary criticism and its practioners."--Journal of Englishand Germanic PhilologyReview Quote
"Makes a valuable contribution to ongoing debates oninterpretation....Stillinger's book should open up fruitful lines of researchand investigation."--Studies in the NovelLong Description
This is a study of the collaborative creation behind literary works that are usually considered to be written by a single author. Although most theories of interpretation and editing depend on a concept of single authorship, many works are actually developed by more than one author. Stillinger examines case histories from Keats, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Mill, and T.S. Eliot, as well as from American fiction, plays, and films, demonstrating that multiple authorship is a widespread phenomenon. He shows that the reality of how an author produces a work is often more complex than is expressed in the romantic notion of the author as solitary genius. The cumulative evidence revealed in this engaging study indicates that collaboration deserves to be included in any account of authorial achievement.Review Quote
"It is refreshing...to see the case against 'genius' or authorial autonomy made in so straightforwardly empirical a fashion, with a good editor's characteristic fidelity to awkward particulars."--Times Literary Supplement "Makes a valuable contribution to ongoing debates on interpretation....Stillinger's book should open up fruitful lines of research and investigation."--Studies in the Novel "Jack Stillinger has written a remarkable book. It ought to have a wrenching effect on literary criticism and its practitioners."--Journal of English and Germanic Philology "It is the major achievement of Stillinger's book to detail the facts of multiple authorship that we have been either too blind to see or too prisoned in our romantic myth of authorship to acknowledge....A clear theory of multiplicity relies upon such scholarly identification of authors and versions as Stillinger himself has so brilliantly exemplified."--Wordsworth Circle "Authoritative scholarly study - balanced, readable, knowledgeable, skillfully argued, and soundly documented."--Studies in Romanticism
Multiple Authorship and the Myth of Solitary Genius offers some surprising historical facts concerning collaborative literary efforts, along with a compelling case for the inclusion of multiple authorship in any account of authorial achievement. This engaging study will be of interest to scholars, critics, and students in all areas of literature and literary theory.