Description
Book SynopsisThe seventeenth-century poet Andrew Marvell (1621-1678) is one of the most intriguing figures in English literature. This title offers a look into Marvell's life, from his early employment as a tutor and gentleman's companion to his suspicious death, reputedly a politically fueled poisoning.
Trade Review"Superlative. . . . The fullest portrait we have to date."—David Yezzi,
The Wall Street Journal
-- David Yezzi * The Wall Street Journal *
"Nigel Smith. . . has certainly mastered everything that can be learned about this elusive, shadowy and very private man."—Michael Dirda,
The Washington Post
-- Michael Dirda * The Washington Post *
"Smith asks the right questions about Marvell's life and time, and he works assiduously in helping to lay 'a new foundation of the documentary knowledge.' . . . [A] worthy biography."—Megan Buskey,
The New York Times Book Review -- Megan Buskey * The New York Times Book Review *
"He offers the fullest available account of Marvell's political activities, fully contextualized. . . . [An] indispensible guide."—Paul Dean,
The New Criterion -- Paul Dean * The New Criterion *
"Nigel Smith attends skillfully to the poetry, but he also provides extensive information about the period as well as the complicated development of Marvell's political and religious views. . . . [Smith's] is probably the most complete biography of Marvell we are likely to see."—Jerome Donnelly,
America -- Jerome Donnelly * America *
"Smith delivers fresh insights into Marvell’s experiences and character…. a fascinating psychological portrait of Marvell."—Helen Hackett,
Times Literary Supplement -- Helen Hackett * Times Literary Supplement *
"From reclusive poet to undercover pamphleteer, Andrew Marvell has always been a mystery man. But nobody knows him better than Nigel Smith, who now follows his definitive edition of the poetry with an up-to-date and state-of-the-art biography."—Annabel Patterson, Yale University -- Annabel Patterson
"The remarkable depth of Nigel Smith's research makes new sense of a celebratedly elusive writer."—David Norbrook, author of
Poetry and Politics in the English Renaissance -- David Norbrook
‘Nigel Smith's definitive biography of Marvell is a gripping read, opening up a world of surprisingly intense interactions between poetry and politics in England's most turbulent modern century. Smith brilliantly illuminates the two sides of Marvell's poetical character--the engaged, parliamentary brawler and controversialist, and the weirdly detached observer of the world--but he also shows how the mysteriousness of Marvell's character resides at last in the very independence and privacy for which Marvell so publicly fought."—Gordon Teskey, Harvard University -- Gordon Teskey
"Rich in detail and impeccably lucid, this remarkable study allows us to understand the subtle poet and elusive politician as we never have before. If Marvell was a mirror to the world, as one of the book's sources says, Nigel Smith is the perfect guide to the mirror and its world, master of the difficult art of looking-glass history."—Michael Wood, Princeton University -- Michael Wood
'The chameleon that emerges from this badly needed, deeply researched study is not just the subtle lyricist familiar from the anthologies but a vigorous verse satirist and an ambitious prose controversialist, whose views still resonate today. Historical sleuthing and literary analysis combine brilliantly in this landmark account - the fullest, most wide-angle picture of Marvell ever produced." —John Kerrigan, Professor of English 2000, University of Cambridge -- John Kerrigan
"Meticulously researched. . . this noteworthy study provides a suitable balance of historical context and literary criticism."—
Library Journal
* Library Journal *
"Smith makes an excellent case for the enduring power of Marvell's occasional poems and satires."—Adam Kirsch,
Barnes and Noble Review
-- Adam Kirsch * Barnes and Noble Review *
"[A] worthy biography."—Megan Buskey,
The New York Times Book Review
-- Megan Buskey * The New York Times Book Review *
"[An] exhaustive, shrewd, wary new biography...Thepoet as craft chameleon in Smith's smart and resonant readings is also the poet as skulking, threatened double agent."—Robert Polito,
Bookforum -- Robert Polito * Bookforum *
"[An] exhaustive, shrewd, wary new biography."—Robert Polito,
Bookforum -- Robert Polito * Bookforum *
"Engaging, intensely researched…. Smith is very good on the historical and political contexts surrounding Marvell…. Smith’s book is a welcome contribution to Marvell studies."—Nick Laird,
Daily Telegraph -- Nick Laird * Daily Telegraph *
"[An] illuminating study."—Michael Kerrigan,
The Scotsman -- Michael Kerrigan * The Scotsman *
"The result of Smith’s scholarly close readings is a refreshed and refined sense of Marvell’s poetry, and his biography should be a standard point of reference for future Marvellians."—John Stubbs,
Literary Review -- John Stubbs * Literary Review *
“Nigel Smith…has now filled [a] void with this authoritative Life.”—Barton Swaim, The Weekly Standard
-- Barton Swaim * The Weekly Standard *
"It is an achievment of astonishing depth and equally impressive scope, covering a fascinating, complex period of English history. The book is must reading for early modern scholars."—M. Cole,
CHOICE -- M. Cole * CHOICE *
"Meticulously researched and scholarly in tone, this noteworthy study provides a suitable balance of historical context and literary criticism. Strongly recommended for students and general readers of 17th-century English literature and history."—Brian Odom,
Library Journal -- Brian Odom * Library Journal *
“Insightful, provocative.”—
Books and Culture * Books and Culture *
“Smith’s comprehensive study of Marvell’s many guises will influence critical thinking for years to come.”—A.D Cousins,
Review of English Studies Vol.62 No.256 -- A.D Cousins * Review of English Studies Vol.62 No.256 *
"Nigel Smith's massive effort . . . obviates the need for any further such survey of Marvell's life and art . . . [Smith's] grasp of seventeenth-century English history, politics, religion, society, is beyond impressive, and he is also a sensitive reader of poetry."—William H. Pritchard,
The Hudson Review -- William H. Pritchard * The Hudson Review *
“Nigel Smith… has now filled [a] void with this authoritative Life.”—Barton Swaim,
The Weekly Standard -- Barton Swaim * The Weekly Standard *
"Smith's meticulous archival research . . . allows a portrait of the young Marvell to form from relatively few life records. . . . Smith is able to identify relationships between [the political ideas of the prose and the depictions of love and sexuality in the lyric poems] in provocative ways."—Curtis Whitaker,
Huntington Library Quarterly -- Curtis Whitaker * Huntington Library Quarterly *
Selected as a
Choice Outstanding Academic Title for 2011 in the English and American category. -- Choice Outstanding Academic Title * Choice *
“This context of danger, where revelations of identity can mean a beheading, permeates the poet’s literary as well as his political work, as this scholarly biography shows.”—
Sunday Herald (Glasgow) * Sunday Herald (Glasgow) *
Shortlisted for the 2011 HW Fisher Best First Biography Prize -- HW Fisher Best First Biography Prize Shortlist * Biographers' Club *
"A highly laudatory biography of the republican poet who praised regicides, hated Catholics and exposed in memorable verse corruption in those places he chose to investigate."—
Contemporary Review * Contemporary Review *
