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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Hardly a Classic,
By A Customer
This review is from: LA Gloire: The Roman Empire of Corneille and Racine (Hardcover)
This is a little book in more ways than one: its ninety small pages of 12-point type (with very generous leading) contain 14 essays. Each addresses political aspects of heroism in a tragedy by one of the two great French classical playwrights, though Auchincloss does not (and, given the material) cannot strive for balance: Corneille dominates Racine 7:1. At least a third to a half of each essay consists of quotation (and plain prose translation) of key extracts; the rest is plot summary, "common-sense" character analysis, and rapid thematic interpretation. Inaccuracies turn up now and again in the résumés and portraits, while the "readings" are seldom more than potted commentary, echoes of French school editions and baccalauréat manuals. In short, a disappointing performance by one of our premier fiction writers and judges of writing.
David Lee Rubin, French Department, University of Virginia
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LA Gloire: The Roman Empire of Corneille and Racine by Louis Auchincloss (Hardcover - Nov. 1996)
$19.95
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