Autobiographical Writings - Machen, Arthur

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Résumé :
Anglo-Welsh writer Arthur Machen (1863-1947) has gained deserved celebrity for his tales of horror (The Great God Pan, The White People), his moving novel of artistic expression, The Hill of Dreams, and a plethora of other works. Some of his most distinctive writings are his autobiographical volumes, Far Off Things (1922), Things Near and Far (1923), and The London Adventure (1924), written when Machen was being hailed as an elder statesman of late Victorian literature. In these autobiographies, Machen carefully fashions an image of himself as the struggling artist dwelling in a London garret, surviving on tea and tobacco. His horror tales of the 1890s were condemned as the ravings of a diseased mind-but that only enhanced their popularity. But Machen continued to struggle financially, and in 1910 he began working as a reporter for the London Evening News. Soon after the outbreak of World War I in August 1914, he wrote The Bowmen, which catapulted him into notoriety, as the story was taken as a true account of angels coming to the rescue of beleaguered British soldiers. This volume also includes a group of separately published essays that augment our understanding of Machen's life and mind. In addition, the rare and piquant volume Precious Balms (1924)-a reprinting of the hostile reviews Machen received over a lifetime-is included. The volume is edited by S. T. Joshi, a leading authority on Machen and weird fiction....

Biographie:
Arthur Machen (1863 - 1947) was a Welsh author and mystic of the 1890s and early 20th century. He is best known for his influential supernatural, fantasy and horror fiction. His novella The Great God Pan (1890; 1894) has garnered a reputation as a classic of horror (Stephen King has called it Maybe the best [horror story] in the English language). He is also well known for his leading role in creating the legend of the Angels of Mons.

Sommaire:
Anglo-Welsh writer Arthur Machen (1863-1947) has gained deserved celebrity for his tales of horror (The Great God Pan, The White People), his moving novel of artistic expression, The Hill of Dreams, and a plethora of other works. Some of his most distinctive writings are his autobiographical volumes, Far Off Things (1922), Things Near and Far (1923), and The London Adventure (1924), written when Machen was being hailed as an elder statesman of late Victorian literature. In these autobiographies, Machen carefully fashions an image of himself as the struggling artist dwelling in a London garret, surviving on tea and tobacco. His horror tales of the 1890s were condemned as the ravings of a diseased mind-but that only enhanced their popularity. But Machen continued to struggle financially, and in 1910 he began working as a reporter for the London Evening News. Soon after the outbreak of World War I in August 1914, he wrote The Bowmen, which catapulted him into notoriety, as the story was taken as a true account of angels coming to the rescue of beleaguered British soldiers. This volume also includes a group of separately published essays that augment our understanding of Machen's life and mind. In addition, the rare and piquant volume Precious Balms (1924)-a reprinting of the hostile reviews Machen received over a lifetime-is included. The volume is edited by S. T. Joshi, a leading authority on Machen and weird fiction....