MHRA Publication

Published February 2003

‘Careful examination of that delicate area between object seen and the deepening sense of being and elation which goes beyond the banality of the situation and becomes a challenge for the narrator to resolve in words: in fact, the very opposition of life and art that lies at the root of Proust's quest.’ — W. L. Hodson, Modern Language Review 99.3, 2004, 786-7 (full text online)
‘Utile et intéressant, ce petit volume introduit des observations profondes et nouvelles.’ — Gareth Gollrad, French Review 79.3, 2006, 624-25

Published May 2003

‘A sensitive and timely account... Crowley’s challenging and detailed study shows vitally that if Antelme is ultimately and necessarily writing within the limits of his own period, none the less he makes an urgent, ethical, and highly politicized challenge to the reader which may never be realized, yet which remains all the more pressing at the beginning of the twenty-first century.’ — Kathryn Robson, Modern Language Review 100.1, January 2005, 220-21 (full text online)
‘Martin Crowley's concern, in this thought-provoking study of the text and the readings to which it has given rise, is to elucidate the dynamics of Antelme's thought firstly by focusing specifically on Antelme, rather than on Antelme as approached from Marguerite Duras, and secondly by situating Antelme's writings historically, philosophically and, to a certain extent, politically.’ — Margaret Atack, French Studies 58.4, 2004, 574

Published June 2003

‘Downing is working outside the scope of any simple discourse of pathology, and perhaps outside the queer undoing of pathology as such. ...this is an impressive first book, striking without being facile, theoretically complex without being unruly, and attentive to literary qualities in the chosen texts while sustaining its thematic argument.’ — Peter Cryle, Modern Language Review 100.2, 2005, 505-6 (full text online)
‘This is a successful, richly structured, and thought-provoking exploration of 'the cultural fantasy of necrophilia'.’ — Carol Rifelj, Nineteenth-Century French Studies 33, n. 1 and 2, Fall-Winter 2004-2005
‘Downing's approach throughout is essentially post-Faucauldian and psychoanalitic. Her style, at once sober and engaging, is a model for academic prose in general. ... The work also indicates a new direction for death studies, and despite its omissions deserves consideration in this regard.’ — Jason Hartford, The Journal of the Midwest Modern Language Association Spring 2004, 119-21

‘A highly readable, well-informed, and clearly argued study of the discourses of motherhood in twentieth-century France.’ — Catherine Rodgers, Modern Language Review 99.4, 2004, 1059-60 (full text online)
‘Ce livre consciencieux met en valeur l'humanité des trois écrivaines étudiées plutôt qu'une quelconque rigidité. Somme tout, c'est leur histoire personnelle que Fell explore, avec tout ce que cela supposes de contradictions, d'ambiguïtés, de tiraillements entre théorie et vécu.’ — Catherine Slawy-Sutton, French Review 79.2, 2006, 420-21

‘Simborowski's book provides a novel, interpretative angle for some of the most studied authors of 20th century Italian literature, inviting a reading which overcomes the limitations of the said by engaging the reader in an operation of 'voicing the silence.' The book is clearly written and Simborowski's positions convincingly argued.’ — Nicoletta Di Ciolla McGowan, Forum Italicum 38/1, 2004, 267-9
‘This book throws new light on a crucial period of Italian culture. In the analysis of silence and the unsaid it provides a key for interpretation, which works well (although not infallibly), and which highlights fundamental issues in Italian literature of the second half of the twentieth century.’ — Olivia Santovetti, Modern Language Review 100.3, 7 July 2005, 843-44 (full text online)
‘Secrets and Puzzles foregrounds and consolidates an important interpretative issue, offering a new perspective on mainstream authors and a new critical context in which to view other writers of the post-war period. An impressive contribution to the study, at undergraduate level and beyond, of contemporary Italian literature.’ — Jennifer Burns, Italian Studies 60.1, 2005, 111-12

Published July 2003

‘Although I cannot concur fully with all of Sherman's conclusions, the building-blocks of his narrative (the examination of the Joseph story as the master narrative of the Jewish Pope myth, as well as the analyses of individual reworkings of the myth) are truly insightful, meticulously researched, and masterfully argued. His book is an important contribution to Jewish literary and cultural studies and will also be of great interest to students and scholars of folklore.’ — Elizabeth Loentz, Modern Language Review 100.4, October 2005, 1160-62 (full text online)

Published December 2003

‘What is particularly fascinating in Prendergast's work is his detailed analysis of the voluminous correspondence received by Sue as his novel progressed... The substantial Bibliography is itself illustrative of the various analyses that have been made over the years, among which For the People By the People? now earns a major place.’ — John Dunmore, New Zealand Journal of French Studies 26.2, 2005, 60-61
‘This is a brilliant and lucid book, richly documented and subtle, and as engaging as it is authoritative.’ — David H. Walker, French Studies 58.4, 2004, 561