Art and its Uses in Thomas Mann's Felix Krull
Ernest Schonfield
Bithell Series of Dissertations 32 / MHRA Texts and Dissertations 70•1 August 2008
- ‘Concerning freedom, play, and Mann’s appeal to a community, Schonfield makes a persuasive case in his lucid and admirable study.’ — Steve Dowden, Modern Language Review 103, 2010, 905-06 (full text online)
Single Combat and Warfare in German Literature of the High Middle Ages: Stricker's Karl der Grosse and Daniel von dem Blühenden Tal
Rachel E. Kellett
Bithell Series of Dissertations 33 / MHRA Texts and Dissertations 72•1 August 2008
- ‘The thoroughness of [Kellett's] restudy is a welcome reinforcement of many of the more impressionistic inferences drawn by previous scholars. The work will prove essential reading for those interested in the variegated oeuvre of the man who referred to himself (perhaps rather too modestly) as ‘Der Stricker’.’ — Neil Thomas, Modern Language Review 105, 2010, 270-71 (full text online)
Hamann's Prophetic Mission: A Genetic Study of Three Late Works against the Enlightenment
Timothy Beech
Bithell Series of Dissertations 34 / MHRA Texts and Dissertations 74•23 April 2010
E. T. A. Hoffmann and Alcohol: Biography, Reception and Art
Victoria Dutchman-Smith
Bithell Series of Dissertations 35 / MHRA Texts and Dissertations 75•19 February 2010
- ‘Clearly written in a jargon-free style, Dutchman-Smith’s study offers an illuminating discussion of a dimension of Hoffmann’s work that has received relatively little scholarly attention up until now, and which will be of interest to specialists and advanced students alike.’ — Birgit Röder, Modern Language Review 106, 2011, 904-05 (full text online)
The Wallenstein Figure in German Literature and Historiography 1790-1920
Steffan Davies
Bithell Series of Dissertations 36 / MHRA Texts and Dissertations 76•19 February 2010
Private Lives and Collective Destinies: Class, Nation and the Folk in the Works of Gustav Freytag (1816-1895)
Benedict Schofield
Bithell Series of Dissertations 37 / MHRA Texts and Dissertations 81•30 May 2012
- ‘Schofield’s unprecedented and skillful incorporation of the author’s entire oeuvre has made a real and lasting contribution to nineteenth-century scholarship.’ — Alyssa Howards, German Quarterly 86, 2013, 489-90
- ‘Represents a valuable contribution to the field and enhances our understanding of Freytag’s strategy and agenda in no small measure.’ — Florian Krobb, Modern Language Review 109, 2014, 556-58 (full text online)
- ‘This is the only comprehensive work on Freytag that I know of, at least in our time. It is thoroughly researched... The criticism is exacting and precise.’ — Jeffrey L. Sammons, Monatshefte 106, 2014, 312-15
Space in Theodor Fontane's Works: Theme and Poetic Function
Michael James White
Bithell Series of Dissertations 38 / MHRA Texts and Dissertations 82•30 May 2012
- ‘The book is exceptionally well written, precise, compact, and lean. It has been well edited with very few faults.’ — Jeffrey L. Sammons, Modern Language Review 109, 2014, 277-79 (full text online)
Crisis and Form in the Later Writing of Ingeborg Bachmann: An Aesthetic Examination of the Poetic Drafts of the 1960s
Áine McMurtry
Bithell Series of Dissertations 39 / MHRA Texts and Dissertations 84•30 May 2012
- ‘There is precious little in McMurtry’s approach and textual interpretation that invites criticism. In fact, one so often feels compelled to applaud the subtlety of these examinations, the comprehensiveness of argument, and sheer erudition of the author... With this study McMurtry has positioned herself in the forefront of contemporary Bachmann scholarship.’ — Rüdiger Görner, Modern Language Review 109, 2014, 1144-45 (full text online)
- ‘The study’s solid grounding in Bachmann research, and modern European literature in general, means that it provides a useful starting point for readers who are new to Bachmann’s work, academics interested in modern literature or philosophy, and Bachmann scholars in search of a new perspective on her work.’ — Lina Fisher, German Quarterly 2013, 110-12
Bridal-Quest Epics in Medieval Germany: A Revisionary Approach
Sarah Bowden
Bithell Series of Dissertations 40 / MHRA Texts and Dissertations 85•30 May 2012
- ‘Bowden’s style is clear, lively, and elegant. As well as making a definitive statement, this book also offers insightful interpretations that are likely to make the texts in question more accessible and appealing to students.’ — Annette Volfing, Modern Language Review 109, 2014, 534-35 (full text online)
Phantom Images: The Figure of the Ghost in the Work of Christa Wolf and Irina Liebmann
Catherine Smale
Bithell Series of Dissertations 41 / MHRA Texts and Dissertations 97•27 September 2013
Odilon Redon: Écrits
Edited by Claire Moran
Critical Texts 1•30 June 2005
- ‘The most interesting recent insight into Redon and his work emerges from this slender edition of his own early writings, carefully edited and presented by Claire Moran.’ — Natalie Adamson, Modern Language Review 101.4, 2006, 1131 (full text online)
- ‘Ce recueil ne manquera pas de susciter l'approfondissement d'études antérieures ou de nouvelles analyses sur l'expression écrite et picturale de Redon. En tant que chercheur, nous ne pouvons qu'encourager ce genre de collection qui facilite notre travail et nous offre par conséquent de nouveaux horizons de recherche.’ — Béatrice Vernier-Larochette, Dalhousie French Studies 76, 2006, 168-69
- ‘Claire Moran's exemplary introduction shows ... that Redon stood 'au cœur du chassé-croisé entre art et littérature' at the start of the twentieth century ... This publication will be heartily welcomed by all devotees of Redon's strange œuvre.’ — Peter Low, New Zealand Journal of French Studies 27.2, 2006, 52-53
Dante Alighieri: Four Political Letters
Translated and with a commentary by Claire E. Honess
Critical Texts 6•1 October 2007
François II, roi de France
Edited by Thomas Wynn
Critical Texts 8•3 November 2006
- ‘This is a welcome edition and a particularly timely one in the context of the current reappraisal of the minores and consequent refinement of our picture of the French Enlightenment, and of the problematization of dramatic reception.’ — John Dunkley, Modern Language Review 104.4, 2009, 1145 (full text online)
Istoire de la Chastelaine du Vergier
Edited by Jean-François Kosta-Théfaine
Critical Texts 9•6 July 2009
La Peyrouse dans l’Isle de Tahiti, ou le Danger des Présomptions: Drame politique
Edited by John Dunmore
Critical Texts 10•20 October 2006
La Devineresse ou les faux enchantemens
Édition présentée, établie, et annotée par Julia Prest
Critical Texts 12•1 November 2007
Phosphorus Hollunder und Der Posten der Frau von Louise von François
Edited by Barbara Burns
Critical Texts 13•1 October 2008
- ‘This handsome critical edition of two of François’s lesser-known short stories from 1857 offers a valuable reminder of the writer’s many merits as a storyteller.’ — Karen Leeder, Modern Language Review 105.3, 2010, 896-97 (full text online)
Le Gouvernement présent, ou éloge de son Eminence, satyre ou la Miliade
Edited by Paul Scott
Critical Texts 14•1 October 2010
- ‘Paul Scott’s edition is both meticulous and erudite ... [the] astute analysis of the political and literary significance of the poem will be of broad interest to scholars who work on the political and cultural history of early modern France.’ — Peter Shoemaker, Modern Language Review 107.2, 2012, 618-20 (full text online)
- ‘The editor convincingly argues that the Miliade deserves our attention today as not only the first significant satire since the years of the Catholic League in the 1580s, but also the pamphlet that, in an increasingly centralized and controlled public sphere, made an audacious claim for the possibility of resistance ... This erudite edition will interest students of seventeenth-century history, literature, and all those interested in the history of political dissent.’ — Antonia Szabari, Renaissance Quarterly 67, 2014, 565-66
- ‘Après 90 pages de riche présentation, l’édition elle-même occupe 30 pages complétées de d’autant de notes (32 pages) qui en permettent la plus exacte compréhension ... [une] excellente édition.’ — Françoise Hildesheimer, Dix-septième siècle 258, 2013, 171-72
- ‘In this impeccably researched new edition, editor Paul Scott shows exactly why this pamphlet should be taken seriously ... I have no doubt that this edition will be essential reading for all scholars of the period.’ — Nicholas Hammond, Seventeenth Century XXVII, 2012, 246-47
Ovide du remede d'amours
Edited by Tony Hunt
Critical Texts 15•1 February 2008
- ‘This is a most carefully presented and legible edition ... The Notes themselves are rich in linguistic, literary and mythological information and useful commentary on salient translation techniques. A Glossary and Table of Proper Names complete this elegant edition.’ — J. Keith Atkinson, New Zealand Journal of French Studies 30.1, 2009, 45-46
Angelo Beolco (il Ruzante), La prima oratione
Edited by Linda L. Carroll
Critical Texts 16•9 March 2009
- ‘This volume is undoubtedly a welcome addition to our knowledge and understanding of the most remarkable author-actor of the Italian Renaissance. This is especially so textually, in its bringing a significant and neglected work—in terms of theatre and ideas—to an anglophone audience, and in its raising provocative questions about the degree of daring and the limits of the polemical in Ruzante.’ — Ronnie Ferguson, Modern Language Review 105.2, 2010, 576-79 (full text online)
- ‘A complete scholarly edition of the work transcribing all three manuscript versions of the oration ... This volume should be welcomed by scholars of the period.’ — Martin W. Walsh, Sixteenth Century Journal XLIV:2, 2013, 618-19
Richard Robinson, The Rewarde of Wickednesse
Edited by Allyna E. Ward
Critical Texts 17•6 July 2009
Henry Crabb Robinson, Essays on Kant, Schelling, and German Aesthetics
Edited by James Vigus
Critical Texts 18•15 October 2010
- ‘Robinson's expertise in German philosophy can now be studied in significant detail in the well-documented edition prepared by James Vigus ... Vigus has not only brought together for the first time a full collection of Robinson's essays on German Philosophy, he has made these bold forays into the complexities of Kant and Schelling readily accessible in his general Introduction ... and his notes on the origin and provenance of each of the manuscripts. His volume is a valuable resource ... Scholars of the reception of German Philosophy in the British Romantic period will find it worthwhile to put Robinson alongside of Coleridge at the top of their reading list ... [A] remarkable achievement.’ — Frederick Burwick, The Wordsworth Circle XLI.4, 2010, 244-47
- ‘Vigus' [edition] bears impressive witness to Robinson's expertise and fills a void [...] the corpus of published and manuscript material remains a fascinating guide to the dynamic intellectual and literary culture of Germany at the beginning of the nineteenth century. [...] Vigus' authoritative, scholarly edition of Robinson's Essays is an essential text for anyone interested in late Enlightenment and early Romantic thought in Germany and in what Robinson did to disseminate that thought beyond the borders of the German-speaking world.’ — Eugene Stelzig, New Books On Literature 19, 28 June 2011
- ‘This volume will be of interest to scholars elucidating the state of Rational Dissent around 1800; to Kant specialists who deal with the early responses to Kant in Great Britain, especially given that Robinson's reception of Kant was superior to that of most of his British contemporaries; to Schelling specialists focussing on the development of Schelling's philosophy between 1800 and 1805; to Staël specialists investigating the background of her work on Germany De l'Allemagne [...] and perhaps most interestingly, Robinson's attempt to understand German philosophy will be relevant to those historians of philosophy and of ideas who believe that much can be learned from comparing radically different philosophical movements [...]. The introduction provides a fine overview and the editor's notes are helpful.’ — Vilem Mudroch, Enlightenment and Dissent 27, 2011, 188-91
- ‘James Vigus's excellent edition of Crabb Robinson's writings marks a new appreciation of his life and work. Crabb Robinson emerges from this volume as a writer and intellectual of considerable significance in his own right, and as one whose ideas contributed to the genesis and development of European Romanticism.’ — Stephen Burley, The Charles Lamb Bulletin n.s. 154, Autumn 2011, 161-63
- ‘As a pioneer of intercultural exchange, Robinson remains too little known today. James Vigus’s edition of his philosophical writings provides a valuable adjunct to the ongoing Crabb Robinson Project of the Dr Williams Centre for Dissenting Studies.’ — H. B. Nisbet, Modern Language Review 107.3, 2012, 970-71 (full text online)
- ‘This collection is a most welcome addition to the slowly growing number of editions of writings by one of Romanticism's most fascinating literary figures. [...] The resultant picture, perspicuously outlined in Vigus's introduction, is of 'a complex process of cultural transfer by which the metaphysics and aesthetics topical in Jena and Weimar around 1800 spread to Europe'. [...] [T]he texts presented in this volume [...] enable us to appreciate [Robinson's] own intellectual achievements more fully and justly than ever before.’ — Nicholas Halmi, The Coleridge Bulletin n.s. 39, Summer 2012, 100-02
Evariste-Désiré de Parny, Le Paradis perdu
Edited by Ritchie Robertson and Catriona Seth
Critical Texts 20•30 June 2009
- ‘Robertson’s authorship of a volume on mock epic, including Parny’s, and Seth’s extensive work on the poet make them an ideal editorial team for this volume.’ — Derek Connon, Modern Language Review 105.4, 2010, 1159-60 (full text online)
- ‘it is particularly interesting to have this careful, commentated and annotated edition of Parny's ironical, erotic and witty version of the Fall.’ — Angus Martin, New Zealand Journal of French Studies 31.1, 2010, 46-47
Stéphanie de Genlis, ‘Histoire de la duchesse de C***’
Edited by Mary S. Trouille
Critical Texts 21•1 October 2010
- ‘This fine edition would be a welcome addition to undergraduate and graduate courses on the Gothic novel, alongside now more familiar English authors ... Trouille has done those of us who focus on women’s writing in the pre-Revolutionary period a great service.’ — Gillian Dow, Modern Language Review 107.3, 2012, 944-45 (full text online)
Louis-Charles Fougeret de Monbron, Le Cosmopolite, ou le citoyen du monde (1750)
Edited by Édouard Langille
Critical Texts 22•14 June 2010