Scholar Adventurers

By Richard D. Altick

Book Overview

"A carefully detailed but by no means dull account of the more dignified pursuit of detection as practiced by literary scholars." --Kirkus Reviews "Although Altick' sensibly mentions that research may be a misadventure, he naturally enough plays up its glamour and romance; and its fascination for the scholar is transmitted to the reader. His book, then, as popular reading is first-rate, solid, rewarding, and lively" --The Nation "a brisk, well-written book" --Time "This is a volume of gracefully written essays celebrating the feats of literary detective work performed by scores of learned men and women passionately in love with the minutiae of literary scholarships." --The New York Times "a more fascinating recital than any fictional mystery story, and its detectives are, it leads us to believe, more interesting in themselves--they are not mousy researchers--than fictional private eyes" --The Boston Globe Richard Altick's classic portrayal of scholars on the prowl has delighted generations of readers. From the exposure of British rare book dealer Thomas Wise--the most famous authority of his day--as a master forger of first editions to the discovery of thousands of new James Boswell papers, Altick shows the scholar at work. Chaucer, Shakespeare, Wordsworth, Shelley, Keats, and many others surrender previously unrevealed secrets to these dogged researchers, whose ceaseless sleuthing has increased our knowledge and appreciation of both literature and the people who created it. Richard D. Altick is Regent's Professor Emeritus of English at The Ohio State University. He is the author of The English Common Reader, Lives and Letters, To Be in England, Victorian Studies in Scarlet, Victorian People and Ideas, The Shows of London, Paintings from Books, and Deadly Encounters as well as numerous essays on English literature and culture.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 081420435X
• ISBN13: 9780814204351
• Release Date: August 1987
• Publisher: Ohio State University Press
• Length: 350 Pages
• Weight: 1.06 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.5" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

A Pleasureable Read

Richard Altick's book was required reading for a graduate school course I had in the mid 70's. This was my first introduction to the world of "detective" work within the framework of literature and I found all the stories fascinating. I kept the book for many years, loaning it out to friends for their enjoyment. Not until a friend recently asked me about the world of the bibliographer (via reading John Dunning's books about the world of book collecting) that I remembered Altick's book and, when I looked for my copy, discovered that I had loaned it once too often and it hadn't been returned. I was delighted to find that the book is still in print and I look forward to re-reading it once again before I loan it out.

Revisiting an old joy

Altick's The Scholar Adventurers is a book full of adventure and detective work. When I first read it in the early 80's (the first edition), not only could I not put it down, but I immediately bought two more copies as gifts. Very soon thereafter, the book went out of print. Today I thought of The Scholar Adventurers again as I wondered if I could part with my copy: a scholar friend recently fell off his roof, breaking multiple bones. His hospitalization means a meager Christmas for his family, so I've been deciding what books I could pass along to make the holiday brighter. I decided I could not give up this book, however, even under these circumstances, unless I had some assured way of replacing my copy. Happily I do. So, after you've finished calling me selfish, check the book out for yourself. It's a great read.