Romantic Genius (Hardcover)

by Professor Andrew Elfenbein (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review
Romantic Genius is a searching and brilliant study. Elfenbein presents us with an impressive array of particular authors, careers, and texts read carefully and engagingly, and collectively these exemplify in various ways the connections among genius, homosexuality, and artistic enterprise itself. The book uses literary research to put real pressure on received notions of both literary history and queer theory; and it uses queer theory to bring out the excitement of a lot of material that has been (until now) largely forgotten or passed over. This is literary history at its best. -- From the Publisher

Romantic Genius is a searching and brilliant study. Elfenbein presents us with an impressive array of particular authors, careers, and texts read carefully and engagingly, and collectively these exemplify in various ways the connections among genius, homosexuality, and artistic enterprise itself. The book uses literary research to put real pressure on received notions of both literary history and queer theory; and it uses queer theory to bring out the excitement of a lot of material that has been (until now) largely forgotten or passed over. This is literary history at its best. -- Anonymous reviewer

A provocative, engaging and well-written study, and one which will make a major contribution to studies of Romanticism and the homosexual tradition in English literature. Elfenbein's central contention--that the idea of homosexuality is intimately linked with late eighteenth-century and Romantic conceptions of original genius--is of compelling significance, not simply for gay and lesbian scholars, but for anyone with an interest in English literature and culture of the period. -- From the Publisher

Elfenbein synthesizes the most sophisticated theories in lesbian and gay studies into an interpretative method that is both attentive to historical and literary specificity and responsible to the imperatives of modern identity politics. His book illustrates how much richer our sense of literary history can be if we are able to acknowledge the embeddedness of concepts such as genius in the sexual politics of early modern culture. -- Kristina Straub author of Sexual Suspects: Eighteenth-Century Players and Sexual Ideology

Review

"In Romantic Genius, Andrew Elfenbein combines traditional Romantic author studies with the interpretive flexibility of queer theory. The result is a provocative study that will introduce some readers to lesser-known Romantic writers and texts, and demand that others see familiar figures in a new light." -- Lisa Moore, Albion

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Columbia University Press (July 15, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0231107528
• ISBN-13: 978-0231107525
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
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• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #4,454,983 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)