The Hidden Key to Harry Potter: Understanding the Meaning, Genius, and Popularity of Joanne Rowling's Harry Potter Novels

Book Description

What you need to know about The Hidden Key to Harry Potter:

1) It is the first critical study to unlock the inner meaning of Harry Potter by treating the series seriously as literature along the lines of Charles Dickens and Jane Austen.

2) It is the first exposé to identify Joanne Rowling as a Christian who consciously writes Christian Fantasy in the tradition of C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien.

3) It is the first full-fledged effort to predict Potter's future course in detail - an audacious and thought-provoking adventure offered to fellow enthusiasts.

4) It is the first Muggle textbook suitable for use at Hogwarts - bringing humor, fun, and WOW! excitement to the "serious" business of Pottermania.

Low Road critics have panned the bestselling Harry Potter novels as "the literary equivalent of fast food" and as a gateway to the occult. But no one has explained the worldwide popularity of Ms. Rowling's fiction or read it as one would read Tolkien, Hemingway, or Shakespeare. The Hidden Key takes the High Road to understanding Harry Potter's success, through an exploration of the series' structure, themes, and symbolism.

The astonishing conclusion of this investigation is that Ms. Rowling, demonized by some Christian critics because of the magical setting of her books, is ironically writing the most charming and challenging Christian fiction for children since Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia. The Hidden Key demonstrates that all the Potter books teach Christian doctrines - sometimes with subtlety, often baldly - in their plot, imagery, and character development. Lambasted by critics who have not read her books closely or are unfamiliar with traditional Christian literature, Ms. Rowling's genius has been overlooked despite her books' success.

A lover and teacher of the Great Books - including the great children's books he reads his seven children - Mr. Granger applies his knowledge of classical philosophy and Christian traditions to reveal the secret message that explains the magic power of Harry Potter.

Find out these secrets inside:

* What is the hidden key to Harry Potter?
* Is Harry's magic dangerous - or quite the opposite?
* What is the evidence that Rowling is a Christian novelist?
* Is the author an "Inkling"? How have we been so bamboozled?
* Who is the real-world model for Gilderoy Lockhart?
* Who is Harry, really? Why does Lord Voldemort want him dead?
* Will Wormtail kill Voldemort as Wormtongue killed Saruman?
* What may happen in the upcoming Potter books?
* How does it all end? - an UNAUTHORIZED prediction.

Customer Reviews:

Thought Provoking but Needs Typist.......2007-03-20

This book has some great thought provoking ideas but these are masked by the many typos throughout. In one particular paragraph the 9 errors caught were extremely distracting. It is ashame the errors are so much, I think this book could be taken very seriously if it was edited better.

I love the diagrams and maps throughout the book, they really helped to illustrate the points. His view on the topic of Harry and religion is interesting. It has helped me in my constant defense for the books (against Christian friends, family, and neighbors). I think in a couple of sections, though, he pushes the envelope a tad too far and some areas seem like rambling. It is in need of better organization, in some spots I felt like I was reading a high school research paper.

All in all a good read...but requires patience!

The "Hidden Key" Revealed by Sound Scholarship.......2005-09-25

Anyone interested in digging deeper into the richness and multi-layered meaning of the Harry Potter books will be well rewarded by reading The Hidden Key to Harry Potter. Far from mere fantasy books for children, or, even more erroneous, books glorifying "witchcraft", the stories are revealed to be carefully planned, researched, and written according to the traditions which enrich all outstanding fiction. J.K. Rowling's education and literary influences are carefully delineated and applied to the critique of each of her novels; and, if the author (John Granger) occasionally goes into bewildering detail about some little known, but vital, subject such as alchemy, a careful reading of the material will reward the reader interested in literary history, the meaning of symbols, and the sources for a vast deal of Rowling's symbology. She is shown to be applying once well-known symbols with care and deliberation to support her themes; in other words, much of what the reading public has assumed was "made up" by a writer with a fertile imagination is demonstrated to be well-established historical and literary lore which other, highly gifted writers before her have employed with great success. While some of Granger's interpretations may seem a bit of a stretch--and he admits that a certain amount of speculating and educated guesswork enters into his critique--enough of it is so convincing and holds together so well that his theories come across as the best of explanations going for the popularity of these novels. While out of print, "Hidden Key" is a real treasure for Harry Potter fans; much of its content has been rewritten in Granger's current book, "Finding God in Harry Potter." A scholarly book, richly rewarding and wonderfully researched.

Magic and Meaning.......2005-04-04

Responses to Harry Potter range from simple, uncluttered enthusiasm to pompous critiques and even outraged disdain. John Granger's book The Hidden Key to Harry Potter is a highly personal, but well-read and creatively argued case for viewing JK Rowling's work as part of the High Road tradition of symbolic Christian literature, perhaps best known in Lewis' Narnia Chronicles.
The Hidden Key is a must-read for any serious Harry Potter fan, or indeed any serious reader of fiction. What I love about it is its combination of solid research and personal conviction, a rare marriage nowadays. It reads like the work of a human being who stands for something, something of which I suspect Ms Rowling, and Harry, would approve.
http://bookwormclub.blogspot.com

Analyze this?.......2004-08-19

This is a meaningless attempt to find meaning in works of fiction by attempting to psychoanalyze the author, her readers and the fictional characters. Too dry and boring for younger readers and adults alike. This appears to be nothing more than an attempt to make more money off the Harry Potter craze.

Entertaining and Enlightening.......2004-08-13

This is a great book that dives into some of the nuances of the Harry Potter series. It goes into a very supportive and in depth literary analyses of why Harry Potter is such an awesome series: Rowling's uses of symbolism, freedom of choice, and various other themes riddle throughout the first four books. He defends it as a literary work against the detractors of the Potter series and does a very good job at it. If you want to dig a little into the deeper meanings that can be found in Harry Potter, this is a good book for anyone. Just be careful. Because Granger wrote it before Order of the Phoenix, some of his predictions about what's going to happen in the future do get a bit silly, and sometimes preposterous. But, hey, this was before the public was graced with book 5.

Alchemy in the Sun Also Rises: Hidden Gold in Hemingway's Narrative

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Alchemy in the Sun Also Rises: Hidden Gold in Hemingway's Narrative
Wolfgang E. H. Rudat
Manufacturer: Edwin Mellen Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0773495797

The Hidden Hand or, Capitola the Madcap (American Women Writers Series)

Average customer rating:

Must Read!
Great 19th century story!
Who was Capitola?
19th Century Literature Rocks
Great!!

The Hidden Hand or, Capitola the Madcap (American Women Writers Series)
E. D. E. N. Southworth
Manufacturer: Rutgers University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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That Printer of Udell's
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The Wide, Wide World
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ASIN: 0813512964

Customer Reviews:

Must Read!.......2007-04-19

My first dive into "real" literature and now I'm hooked thanks to this book. Starts a little slowly, but hang on. Once the excitement starts, you can't put it down. Uses lots of coincidences for plot resolution as was common for the time period, but this does not detract from the excellent quality. Much fun to read and well worth your time.

Great 19th century story!.......2006-04-12

This novel, originally written in 1859, begins with Colonel Warfield, "Old Hurricane," being called from his cozy bed into a raging storm to hear the deathbed confession of an old, black slave. It seems that the evil Gabriel Le Noir had killed his brother and taken his pregnant sister-in-law into hiding. This old slave attended the birth of the twins--one stillborn boy, one living girl--and hid the girl and raised her by herself. This girl, Capitola, was now living in New York City and was 13 years old. Old Hurricane fetches the girl and has her live with him as his ward.

Meanwhile, the story of Marah Rocke and her 18 year old son Traverse begins. She's a wholesome, suffering single mother. Traverse is noble and hard-working. They are befriended by Doctor Day and his lovely daughter Clara. Traverse and Clara fall in love, but first, Traverse must establish himself as a doctor and so on. Evil tidings befall, and their love is thwarted. Will it ever work out?

Meanwhile, back at Hurricane Hall, Capitola grows up and is quite a pistol. She's spunky, disobedient, and thoroughly enjoyable to read about. She captures a notorious criminal and escapes from a few of them as well.

But, how do these stories tie together? Who is Col. Warfield's nephew? His estranged wife? How do the evil Le Noirs fit into this story? Will Traverse be shot in the army? Will Clara be force to marry Craven Le Noir? All these tantalizing questions are answered in a clean, entertaining story which leaves you with a happy ending.

If you enjoy adventure with a somewhat predictable outcome, morals entwined in your stories, and don't mind young men who would die for their mothers, then I recommend this book to you. It's not overtly heavy on the morality and sentimentality as some old reprints are. If you're a cynical old jade who doesn't want to spend 400+ pages reading about these folk, then go watch some TV.

Who was Capitola?.......2005-11-20

At my aunt's birth she was given the name, "Capitola." I was always curious as to where that name had originated from and later I was told that my grandmother had taken it from a very popular novel at the time. Like my grandmother I have very much enjoyed reading The Hidden Hand. Capitola, the feisty and subversive heroine of the book puts a lot of playful pressure on the conventional Christian and genteel values that are in the end reaffirmed. I highly recommend this book.

19th Century Literature Rocks.......2005-08-17

I checked this book out of my local library and after reading it just had to have a copy of my own. It's a fantastic example of a 19th century "Popular", what we today call a Gothic-Romance. This is what all the ladies were reading and even though it follows the formula used by writers of the period, it's still an outstanding page-turner. Descriptions, characters and plot are all well developed and it moves along quickly and easily. I'm thrilled to see it available here for others to enjoy! 19th Century Literature really can rock if you let it!

Great!!.......2002-07-29

Capitola is a true heroin! Once you buy this book you'll never be able to put it down. Capitola is a lovable character and Ms. E.D.E.N Southworth, did a marvelous job at selecting each of her characters including Captain Hurricane, Black Donald (the criminal) Capitola is a remarkabl eyoung girl and you'll definately laugh and cry with her through out the book! I recommend this book to all who have read such novels as Pride and Prejudice and Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen! You'll LOVE this book!

Subterranean Kerouac: The Hidden Life of Jack Kerouac

Average customer rating:

So What...a waste of space
SHEER MAGIC
A Flawed But Valuable Kerouac Biography
Offers respect
The Dark Side of The Beat Generation

Subterranean Kerouac: The Hidden Life of Jack Kerouac
Ellis Amburn
Manufacturer: St Martins Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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The Windblown World: The Journals Of Jack Kerouac 1947-1954
Jack Kerouac: An Illustrated Biography
Kerouac: A Biography
Desolate Angel: Jack Kerouac, the Beat Generation, and America
Kerouac: Selected Letters: Volume 2: 1957-1969

ASIN: 0312145314

Amazon.com

At the heart of Jack Kerouac's hidden life is the conflict between his "homoerotically inclined life and the blustering masculinity" he felt compelled to demonstrate. As a youth in Lowell, Massachusetts, Kerouac was a football hero, brash and rowdy, pursued by the local coeds. But his strongest emotions focused on an artistic high school friend, Sammy Sampas, whose physical advances Jack ultimately rejected and forever mourned. This failure to resolve his emotional and sexual identity set into motion Kerouac's two-headed monster of creativity and self-destruction.

Though his novels depict rampant sexual freedom and distinguish him as a stylistic innovator, Kerouac himself was reined in by the taboos and social constrictions of the 1930s and '40s. Friendships with Allen Ginsberg, William S. Burroughs, Neal Cassady, and other beat originals helped him indulge the homosexual side of his nature. Yet the internal conflicts raged, and running along with them were Kerouac's Benzedrine and alcohol addictions.

While Amburn's biography is rich with the salacious adventures of hipsterism (trysts with Ginsberg between parked trucks in Greenwich Village; the frenetic cross-country trips immortalized in On the Road; the Kerouac Sex List, which tells exactly with whom and how many times), he takes a serious look at the twisted Kerouac psyche. Amburn has a unique vantage point as Kerouac's last editor, and we benefit from their friendship with the confidential details Kerouac supplied during the editing process. Kerouac often insisted that "every word I write is true," but Amburn readers discover a man tortured by the dueling sides of his own divided nature. --Joan Urban

Book Description

Drawing upon original interviews and his own relationship with Kerouac, Ellis Amburn reveals an inner man who has not appeared in any previous biography-a man torn by his conflicting desires and beliefs. Subterranean Kerouac has been singled out as one of the most significant biographies to appear in years, and it shows how Kerouac struggled throughout his life with poverty, alcoholism, and his doubts about his own lifestyle of substance abuse, indolence, and promiscuity.

Customer Reviews:

So What...a waste of space.......2005-02-02

Jack kerouac's sexuality...ummm...a subject for a book on his life. I read it through. There isn't anything new here if you read or listen to any of the Beat novels, poems and journals. It's interesting that in Kerouac's "Vanity Of Duluoz" the dedication page states "Extra special thanks to Ellis Amburn for his emphatic brilliance and expertise". It's pretty evident what drove Jack to write. It's all in his books. "Dr Sax" comes to mind. One good place to look for the real Jack Kerouac is not with this waste of time book but at a clip of him reading on the Steve Allen Show...look at his face when he finishes...closely. It said more about him than a thousand pages of bio's and bad press.

SHEER MAGIC.......2002-01-28

This is pure, addictive reading pleasure as it leaves no stone unturned in its investigation of Kerouac the author and Kerouac the man. Not only that, but it also sheds light on a whole generation of bohemians and contemporaries of Kerouac whilst providing valuable background and insight into the literary masterpieces produced by this generation that included William Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg, Paul Bowles, Neal Cassady and many others. Their lives prove that the path of excess often leads to the most sublime literature. This book has stimulated my interest in the Beat writers all over again and I shall reread their classics once more, this time with a clearer understanding of the interpersonal relationships and mutual influences underlying the text. I believe Amburn's excellent book is indispensable for a thorough understanding of the Beats and is a brilliant reference work with its copious notes, extensive bibliography and thorough index. The text is enlivened by black and white photographs all the important people, places and documents that played a part in Kerouac's life. Impeccable scholarship and an engaging writing style combine to ensure a riveting read and a valuable reference source that I certainly will return to again and again.

A Flawed But Valuable Kerouac Biography.......2002-01-06

Ellis Amburn's thesis is that Kerouac's personality and art were shaped by his struggle to reconcile his macho side with his latent homosexuality. His argument is not altogether convincing but thankfully it is basically a minor theme in what is otherwise an excellent biography. And Amburn's theme does raise valid unanswered questions about Kerouac's sexuality. Ginsberg's homosexuality is, of course, no secret, and both he and Kerouac acknowledge that there was some activity between them. And Neal Cassady's attempted hustle of the homosexual driver of the "fag Plymouth" in the motel scene in "On the Road" suggests that he was probably bisexual. But Kerouac himself is purposely vague on the details of his own homosexuality, so Amburn's interest is justified.
Anyone familiar with Kerouacs work, however, will likely have problems accepting Amburn's argument. Conflict over sexual ambivalence simply seems inadequate to explain Kerouac's obsession with life and death, joy and suffering, and man's relationship with God. Certainly Kerouac's loss of his brother Gerard at age 4 had a greater impact on his art than did reconciling whatever homoerotic feelings he had with his self-preferred image as a macho writer.
Many critics have apparently dismissed Amburn's book altogether. The fact that the chapters have been given ridiculously purple titles like "Muscles, Meat, and Metaphysics", and "Sucking Asses to Get Published" doesn't add much to the book's claim to respectibility. ButI found it a valuable and highly readable biography, which presents a picture of the author which I found more accessible and understandable than the Charters or Nicosia books. His research seems sound enough,and there are extensive notes and references, many from JK himself.
Amburn was Kerouac's last editor (he edited "Big Sur") and his comments on working with Kerouac are interesting in their own right, especially when he comes out and asks Kerouac just what he meant in certain ambiguous passages. He also presents numerous details that are omitted or glossed over in the other books, such as the details of the Kammerer murder and the exact nature of Bill Canastra's gruesome death during a subway prank. After reading his book I have a much better understanding of Kerouac's football career, the attraction he felt for Borroughs, and his comples relationship with his mother and with women in general. Details like this flesh out the picture, and do much to make Kerouac's personality more understandable.
I disagree with those who denigrate this book, and after two readings, it has become my favorite Kerouac biography. That Amburn's central thesis doesn't quite hold water (for me, at least) does nothing to lessen the value of this very enjoyable book.

Offers respect.......2001-09-17

This book is a tricky one.

It's interesting to read a work that was so elegantly written and thoroughly researched but with the obvious agenda to "out" a man who is already well-known to have been "bisexual" in his activities. A credit to the author is that he does freely admit Kerouac's love (and in fact preference) for beautiful women, but do we as readers really need a diatribe about how wholesome homosexuality is?

It's kind of a stretch to blame most of Kerouac's problems on his supposed conflict between hetero and homo leanings. Sexuality seems more a spectrum that is embraced by bisexuals, not a stark decision that must be made on either the "hetero" or "homo" side. Kerouac seemed to revel in his openness, not always torment over it! Obviously gays experienced much discrimination in the fifties and Kerouac probably felt a bit of this tension. Many readers do not need to hear so much about his sexual feelings/behaviors in general and grandiose psychological theories about the underpinnings of his conflicts and genius.

The substantive portions on Kerouac's strivings as an artist and goal toward publishing are very well-written and quite informative. I really felt that I was taken into the mind of this ambitious genius beat writer.

Amburn's discourses on his closeness to Kerouac did not upset me; they seemed like ingenuous efforts to convey his fondness for Kerouac.

The football content was treated thoroughly and reverentially, which I enjoyed. Also, Subterranean sheds much light on the real itinerant nature of Kerouac, his undying love for his mother, and a variety of other tidbits seemingly culled from trusted sources.

Mainly the book is intelligently written, engrossing, and the fact that it's pissing off a lot of people would have probably warmed Jack's heart.

This book meets my number one criterion for a biography about a person who is no longer with us (if you can ever justify writing one) - that it is written mostly objectively, and with a lot of respect. This one successfully does just that.

I'm raising a glass right now.

B. Wallace/author/Labyrinth of Chaos

The Dark Side of The Beat Generation.......2001-07-09

For the first time a realistic biography has finally been written concentrating on and revealing in part THE DARK TRUTH ABOUT THE BEAT GENERATION. Ellis Amburn's biography is one of the first to ADMIT in any "official" capacity, and show through the biographical medium of Jack Kerouac, the simple undeniable fact that the Beat Generation is, like most rebellious movements comprised of the young, the unaccepted, the lost, misplaced, unacknowledged, leaderless, angry, artistic, philosophical, experimental, et.al---largely consumed by dark, forbidden ( by society) impulses and passions too powerful to deny and are often obsessed and fascinated by them too much NOT to explore.... It is Kerouac's dream that people want, not the truth of his life; even the numerous biographies have but scratched "the beat surface", somehow writing their way around the truth as if it were a reality whose skirts they were too terrified to lift, as a veil guarding from sore eyes what is not a handsome leg! Not so with Ellis Amburn's subterranean Kerouac! Amburn was Kerouac's editor the last decade of Kerouac's life.... He came into Kerouac's career, fittingly, about the time of "Big Sur", in which K, admits for the first time on record to his Angel that he is going absolutely crazy in the horrific manner of narcotica... K.'s literary skills of graphic description here do not tantalize, but horrify! This is the book that alienated Kerouac's own audience, and Amburn coming on the scene from here onwards is qualified to paint the portrait of Kerouac in a realistic manner worthy of Soviet Realist Literature, who is writing from personal memoir as well as from biographical investigation. Of course all Amburn writes is verified, one can investigate matters thoroughly for oneself thanks to concise bibliographical notated sources, including Kerouac's own "sex-lists", and the information it contains is valid only because, unlike the multitude of biographies out there, it's sources ARE cited.... Kerouac struggled all his life, and the fact that he eulogizes his youth in way that produced the most Romantic literature of his generation cannot ever completely exorcise his roots in the black soil of a poor French-Canadian family of working class origins, replete with all the stigmata of the hell it is to be poor, with an alcoholic, unemployed gambler for a father and repressed, clinging, religious old-world peasant for a mother, and a dutiful son of deep inborn sorrows, "Ti Jean", who loves them at the same time they all lovingly murder one another with smiles on their faces...you know the story, writ in high Romanticism, if you've read his works, which of no writer can I recommend more than Kerouac that you read his own works first before consulting ANY biograpical tomes as Kerouac wrote his own autobiography the way Twain said "noone is more prepared to write about your life than you are" and if you want to learn about Kerouac's spirit written straight from the heart consult his works! If you want the gut-level truth about his exterior life I recommend this one. Out of them all, however, if you don't want to be enlightened as to the truth of Kerouac's life,and believe me many do NOT, then do NOT read Amburn's biography. Even though much of what Amburn writes is mentioned in the previous what?-20?-biographies,it is yet glossed over in a deceptive manner allowing the delusion and the propoganda to continue flourishing and sellsellselling everything from romantic pants to cigarettes. On a deeper level, Amburn is championing Kerouac by writing the TRUTH of his exterior life as it can only raise Kerouac's spirit that much higher exposing as it does the true grit and stamina NOT to suicide himself the easy way, but to create immortal literature in which people will find the Solace and COMPANIONSHIP Kerouac wrote for! Amburn's Subterranean Kerouac is beyond the petty bickerings of what exactly went on at some party in the village 50 years ago, who ahhumped who so immensely they had to be resuscitated...that stuff is all fine-n-dandy but it does NOT get to the heart of the matter that is Kerouacs'! I suspected such a biography as this would upset the lies people want so much to believe, myself included, and they are anybody but Kerouac's lies; but true romanticism is not a flight from reason but a journey towards the ultimate self, and if such a book can upset so many innumerable critics, it's a sign beckoning: "There is something this book did to me that is really troubling to me!" and people rarely get upset by lies if they truly have no significant connotation, let those who admonish and want to kill the messenger bearing bad news go back to their idle worshipping of a false idol, and believe me, it is NOT Kerouac that is false in any way, it is largely the media who has so warped the true vision these writers had, but also those who would not find out the truth for themselves, even when they drink from the very source, that metaphysical horror of existence that Kerouac with sheer courage stands under the gaze of and stares back, constantly driving himself onwards "on the road" to get to the very heart of the matter, as if it were a very definitely real place somewhere within the confines of an "America!". Like any good biography, and there are thruths in each one not to be gleaned from any other, there is rarely any who don't break-down and cry their hearts out at the end of the life of Jack Kerouac. Many, rightly-so have said that to American Artists as well as the average reader, it is akin to the death of JFK for those who hold him close to their heart, a national tragedy. Disarming however is the real tragedy concerning Kerouac was the wretched manner in which he was treated while alive. The brutality of the establishment and the cruelty of mean spirited closed-minded people Kerouac fought against by using beautiful words, in the business of healing words...in the way he is used and marketed today still makes him very much so a 20th century American martyr. Amburn's biography is a portrait of Kerouac's inner-life in the tortured yet beautiful stylizations of German Expressionism. Kerouac fans are lucky, and some doomed, to have it. Regardless, the truth is now definately out there.

Average customer rating:

Magnificent!
a candid look into the writer's life
Highly Recommended!

The Hidden Writer
Alexandra Johnson
Manufacturer: Anchor
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Women Writers & Feminist Theory | Books & Reading | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

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Similar Items:

Leaving a Trace: On Keeping a Journal
Voice of Her Own: Women and the Journal Writing Journey
A Walk Between Heaven and Earth: A Personal Journal on Writing and the Creative Process
The Assassin's Cloak: An Anthology of the World's Greatest Diarists
A Book of One's Own

ASIN: 0385478305
Release Date: 1998-04-13

Book Description

"Whom do I tell when I tell a blank page?" Virginia Woolf's question is one that generations of readers and writers searching to map a creative life have asked of their own diaries. No other document quite compares with the intimacies and yearnings, the confessions and desires, revealed in the pages of a diary. Presenting seven portraits of literary and creative lives, Alexandra Johnson illuminates the secret world of writers and their diaries, and shows how over generations these writers have used the diary to solve a common set of creative and life questions.

In Sonya Tolstoy's diary, we witness the conflict between love and vocation; in Katherine Mansfield and Virginia Woolf's friendship, the nettle of rivalry among writing equals is revealed; and in
Alice James's diary, begun at age forty, the feelings of competition within a creative family are explored.

The Hidden Writer shows how the diaries of Marjory Fleming, Sonya Tolstoy, Alice James, Katherine Mansfield, Virginia Woolf, Anaïs Nin, and May Sarton negotiated the obstacle course of silence, ambition, envy, and fame. Destined to become a classic on writing and the diary as literary form, this is an essential book for anyone interested in the evolution of creative life.

Customer Reviews:

Magnificent!.......2004-03-05

What a fantastic find! This book is one of those treasures that you will never forget! A truly savoury read!

a candid look into the writer's life.......2002-08-02

Alexandra Johnson, who teaches writing at Harvard and Wellesley, provides us with six excellent stories about the role of the diary in the creative lives of seven prominent female writers. The chapters are arranged progressively according to both the age of the writers at the time they began writing the most celebrated parts of their journals, and to the time period in which they lived. For each chapter, Johnson slightly modifies her style to best capture the spirit of the particular writer's life, as recorded in her diary. It is a very effective narrative device, executed with remarkable precision, a style that is very difficult to carry off without sounding artificial and capricious.

The role of memoir is often underestimated outside of literary fiction, but its importance is gaining ground. One need not be an English major at some liberal arts college like Amherst, Swarthmore, Smith, Vassar, Mount Holyoke, or Sarah Lawrence, to find the subject relevant and interesting. For example, we often rely on patient memoir as medical narrative in my graduate program in biomedical ethics at the University of Maryland. History, law, and even business are focusing more attention on personal narratives now than in years past. Still, it is in the diaries of writers where we find the most inspiring stories.

In Johnson's book, the frustrations and insecurities of hailed writers are laid bare for us both in their journal excerpts and in the author's impressive ancillary research, making these past figures seem ever more human than what we usually grasp from reading their fiction. The incipient chapter on Marjory Fleming, with its occassional comparisons of the central figure to other important juvenile femmes de plume (Anne Frank and the young Bronte sisters), fills the reader with both charming amusement at how such a young girl could write like such an adult, and with awe at her gifted literary ability, which was cut so short by an early death. The next two chapters, on Sonya Tolstoy and Alice James, show us the age-old struggle of the aspiring female writer against male-imposed (both societal and familial) restrictions to her creative expression. These are among the most emotionally frustrating chapters; they often reminded me of the classes I took as a Women's Studies minor in college.

My favorite chapter is about the relationship between the great Virginia Woolf and Katherine Mansfield, as recorded in their diaries. The way that Johnson writes about these two, one can feel the writers living and breathing, conversing and writing, fretting and maligning, praising and rejoicing in their shared and individual literary triumphs and (often self-perceived) failures. Of all the chapters, this one is a true must-read for the bookworm short on time.

The following chapter on the provocative (and promiscuous) Anais Nin reads almost like a confessional more than a biography. The most interesting points of this entry are where Nin confronts her own dishonesty within her diary's pages--the 'cardinal sin' of journal-keeping. Without saying so explicitly, Johnson shows the reader by example how important it is to keep one's diary devoid of any false stories or feelings. The last chapter on May Sarton is like smiling into the day's end--the golden years of one's life published in best-selling diaries. One is never too old to begin, I suppose.

The six chapters are capped by a prologue and epilogue, both in the form of diary entries (they may very well be) from Johnson's contemporary life. This book, unlike so many other nonfiction books of its kind out there, reads like a seamless biography that entertains, informs, and (most importantly) moves the reader to a better appreciation of the interior lives of some great (and some overlooked) female writers and diarists. It is a book for reflection on the power and value of keeping a diary (or 'journal,' for us men), and for motivation for all of us to start keeping one of our own.

Highly Recommended!.......2000-04-08

For the diarist, writer, avid reader or fan of Virginia Woolf, Anais Nin, Alice James, Katherine Mansfield, Marjory Fleming or May Sarton (or just for a lover of great writing!), this is a must-have book. I have kept a journal for nearly 20 years and have never thought much of it. In other words, it's part of me like my arm or leg is but in this book, journals are made into fascinating mirrors (or in some cases, pandora's boxes) of women writers. The author explains in great detail how each writer used her journal as a creative tool. The title "hidden writer" is somewhat misleading, as all the women in this book were published, but the "hidden" aspect perhaps refers to the private aspects of themselves they revealed only in their journals. Chapters on Katherine Mansfield and Virgina Woolf are exceptional.

Johnson's research is phenomenal, layered and her narrative skill at tying it all together is amazing. Somewhat mediumistic, she dons a slightly different voice in each chapter, to best bring the writer's diaries to life.

The book ends with a few journal entries from the author.

A fascinating, memorable read. Anyone with an interest in writing, psychology, and creativity should find this a wonderful read!

Book Description

Despite the great diversity of settings in Tanith Lee's novels-from the pre-historic origins of Christianity to robot-dominated futurescapes-certain underlying thoughts and references appear consistently. While adhering formally to many of the writing conventions of the fantasy, science fiction and horror genres, Lee also engages the meaning of myths of the Greeks (particularly Dionysos), Egyptians, Persians and Indians. The dynamics of magic, alchemy, shamanism, Gnosticism and reincarnation also surface frequently. This critical work examines Lee's highly original applications of such themes and subtexts. Less prominent themes are also covered, as well as her insights into human nature, her humor, her numerous tributes to literature, her comments on writing, her games with space, time and language, and her preoccupation with detail and background. Also included is an interview with Tanith Lee, a bibliography of Lee's work, a general bibliography, and an index.

Customer Reviews:

Fascinating overview, but...........2001-08-14

I've been fascinated by Tanith Lee's books ever since encountering _Red as Blood_ as a preteen. Since then, I've been acquiring more of them, and have noticed (both consciously and not) a number of the themes that weave throughout her work.

_The Hidden Library_ discusses many of these, largely as expressed through Lee's novels rather than her copious short stories. Since many of these novels are now out of print, Mavis Haut thoughtfully summarizes them before proffering analyses. Some of the summaries are a bit confusing-- not too surprising in view of the twists and turns which Lee's plots can undergo-- but generally there's enough information to understand the discussions that follow: recurring symbolism, mythological roots, the significance of names, structural parallels, and so on.

Truthfully, while I enjoyed the book and found that it offered some insights that would've never occurred to me, I still have to consider it a bit slim for the price. However, the book also contains a lengthy interview with Lee, as well as information about forthcoming books in the "Flat Earth" and "Blood Opera" series; these features are, as far as I know, available nowhere else.

In conclusion, while I can recommend this book for Lee fans, I must do so with mild reservations. True completists may have fewer quibbles with it than I do, as one of my frustrations with the book was being intrigued by summaries of novels which are now out of print and nearly impossible to acquire, except at rates even higher than for this book.

Eccentric Spaces, Hidden Histories: Narrative, Ritual, and Royal Authority from The Chronicles of Japan to The Tale of the Heike (Asian Religions and Cultures)
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Eccentric Spaces, Hidden Histories: Narrative, Ritual, and Royal Authority from The Chronicles of Japan to The Tale of the Heike (Asian Religions and Cultures)
David Bialock
Manufacturer: Stanford University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books | Classics | Comic | Contemporary | Literary
General | Criticism & Theory | History & Criticism | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Japanese | Asian | History & Criticism | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0804751587
Release Date: 2007-02-01

Book Description

After The Tale of Genji (c. 1000), the greatest work of classical Japanese literature is the historical narrative The Tale of the Heike (13th-14th centuries). In addition to opening up fresh perspectives on the Heike narratives, this study also draws attention to a range of problems centered on the interrelationship between narrative, ritual space, and Japan's changing views of China as they bear on depictions of the emperor's authority, warriors, and marginal population going all the way back to the Nara period. By situating the Heike in this long temporal framework, the author sheds light on a hidden history of royal authority that was entangled in Daoist and yin-yang ideas in the Nara period, practices centered on defilement in the Heian period, and Buddhist doctrines pertaining to original enlightenment in the medieval period, all of which resurface and combine in Heike's narrative world. In introducing for the first time the full range of Heike narrative to students and scholars of Japanese literature, the author argues that we must also reexamine our understanding of the literature, ritual, and culture of the Heian and Nara periods.

Unknown Masterpieces: Writers Rediscover Literature's Hidden Classics (New York Review Books Classics)

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Unknown Masterpieces: Writers Rediscover Literature's Hidden Classics (New York Review Books Classics)

Manufacturer: NYRB Classics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Literary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Anthologies | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Classic Crimes (New York Review Books Classics)
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Hindoo Holiday: An Indian Journal (New York Review Books Classics)

ASIN: 1590170776
Release Date: 2003-07-31

Book Description

In this original collection, several of today's finest writers introduce little-known treasures of literature that they count among their favorite books. Here Toni Morrison celebrates a great Guinean storyteller whose novel of mystical adventure and surprising revelation transforms our image of Africa, while Susan Sontag raises the curtain on a distant summer when three of the greatest poets of the twentieth century exchanged love letters like no others. Here too John Updike analyzes the rare art of an English comic genius, Jonathan Lethem considers a hard-boiled and heartbreaking story of prison life, and Michael Cunningham uncovers the secrets of what may well be the finest short novel in modern American literature. Other contributors include such noted authors as Arthur C. Danto, Lydia Davis, Elizabeth Hardwick, Francine Prose, Luc Sante, Colm Tóibín, Eliot Weinberger, and James Wood.

Lucid, polished, provocative, inspiring, these essays are models of critical appreciation, offering personal, impassioned, thoughtful responses to a wide range of wonderful books. Unknown Masterpieces is a treat for all lovers of great writing and a useful and stimulating guidebook for readers eager to venture off literature's beaten tracks.

Eliot Weinberger on Hindoo Holiday by J.R. Ackerley
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Jonathan Lethem on On the Yard by Malcolm Braly
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Francine Prose on A High Wind in Jamaica by Richard Hughes
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The Hidden Author: An Interpretation of Petronius's Satyricon (Sather Classical Lectures)

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The Hidden Author: An Interpretation of Petronius's Satyricon (Sather Classical Lectures)
Gian Biagio Conte
Manufacturer: University of California Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Comic | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0520207157

Book Description

The Satyricon of Petronius, a comic novel written in the first century A.D., is famous today primarily for its amazing banquet tale, "Trimalchio's Feast." But this episode is only one part of the larger picture of life during Nero's rule presented in the work. In this accessible discussion of Petronius's masterful use of parody, Gian Biagio Conte offers an interpretation of the Satyricon as a whole. He combines the scholarly precision of close reading with a significant, original theoretical model.
At the heart of his interpretation, Conte reveals the technique of the "hidden author" that Petronius employs at the expense of his characters, in particular the teller of the story, Enclopius. By remaining hidden outside the narrative, Petronius invites the reader to smile at the folies de grandeur that occur in a culture of scholars and declaimers. Yet as Conte shows, behind the parody and inexhaustible humor of the Satyricon lies an unexpectedly serious lament. For those familiar with the Satyricon, as well as for new readers, Conte's book will be a reliable, enjoyable guide to the wonders the Satyricon contains.

The Power of Words: Unveiling the Speaker and Writer's Hidden Craft

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The Power of Words: Unveiling the Speaker and Writer's Hidden Craft
David S. Kaufer , Suguru Ishizaki , Brian S. Butler , and Jeff Collins
Manufacturer: Lawrence Erlbaum
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Linguistics | Words & Language | Reference | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0805847839

Book Description

Illustrates concepts/rhetorical theory behind a writing analysis approach, which examines writing patterns & shows writers how their writing works in various categories to accomplish varying objectives. Reference for writing instructors,students,writers.

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