Description
Book SynopsisThis book argues that political democracy has not fulfilled its promise and that we should therefore
re-examine literature’s long conservative hostility to it. It offers new accounts of the ethos of
refusing political democracy, as well as innovative readings of writers including Tocqueville,
Disraeli, George Eliot, E.M. Forster and Saul Bellow.
Trade Review"Against Democracy is a frame-shifting discussion of the interrelated histories of democracy, conservative thought, and the rise of literary criticism and theory. Highly readable, and displaying a rare blend of literary and political insight, this book is sure to influence ongoing debates in the literary humanities." -- -Amanda Anderson Johns Hopkins University "Simon During is one of the most original, intelligent, unpredictable literary critics currently writing in the English language. Sentence by elegant sentence, one generally learns more from him than from almost anyone else I can think of." -- -Bruce Robbins Columbia University
