by Lorna Sage
First published 1709
Lorna Sage spent thirty years writing about books for the London and New York literary press. This collection gathers her journalism from 1972 to 2001, showcasing her evolution as a critic. Sage interviewed authors and reviewed new releases weekly for major publications. Her subjects ranged from classic writers like George Eliot, Charles Dickens, and Mary Shelley to contemporary voices including Sylvia Plath, Angela Carter, Umberto Eco, and Salman Rushdie. The pieces reveal Sage's distinctive critical perspective as it developed over decades. Her writing combines intelligence with humor, seriousness with irreverence. She approaches literature with both scholarly rigor and rebellious spirit, creating criticism that entertains while it illuminates.
Genres: essays, literary-criticism, literary-fiction, 20th-century, biography-memoir, criticism, 21st-century, academic
Vibes: intimate, scholarly, thought-provoking
Tropes: literary-criticism, memoir
Setting: London, New York
Period: 1972-2001
361 pages · Paperback · HarperPerennial