Title
The Journey Abandoned: The Unfinished Novel,New
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In 1947, Lionel Trilling, the prominent literary critic, published a novel entitled The Middle of the Journey. While conducting research in the archives at Columbia University, Geraldine Murphy discovered a second novela clean, wellcrafted 'third' of a book that Trilling described as having 'point, immediacy, warmth under control, drama, and even size.' The Journey Abandoned was supposed to be a novel about the anomalies of heroic action in a conformist age. Instead, published here for the first time, it is a highly personal portrait of the life of letters in America.Jorris Buxton, the narrative's largerthanlife focus, is an elderly poet and novelist turned distinguished mathematical physicist. Modeled on the romantic poet Walter Savage Landor, Buxton is destined to embroil himself in a principled but somewhat absurd conflict, just as the aged Landor had, and through his folly complicate the lives of his admirers. These memorable characters include Garda Thorne, a beautiful shortstory writer (and Buxton's former mistress); Harold Outram, the director of an influential private foundation and a compromised man of letters; Philip Dyas, the headmaster of a private school; the Hollowells, a wealthy, progressive couple; Marion Cathcart, a young woman of Outram's household; and Vincent Hammell, an untried literary man from the Midwest and Buxton's newly appointed biographer.Hammell is the central consciousness of the novel. A young man from the provinces, he is drawn from Trilling's own experience yet also indebted to the nineteenthcentury bildungsroman, the literary form Trilling admired as a critic and emulated, in these pages, as a novelist. In her introduction, Murphy considers how The Journey Abandoned (which is her title) relates to the critical ideas Trilling articulated in his famous essay collection, The Liberal Imagination. She speculates that Henry James came to displace Landor as the model for Jorris Buxton, a development that may have both inspired and inhibited the writing of this novel.
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- Q: What is the main theme of 'The Journey Abandoned'? A: 'The Journey Abandoned' explores the complexities of heroic action in a conformist society, offering a personal portrait of the literary life in America.
- Q: Who is the author of 'The Journey Abandoned'? A: The author of 'The Journey Abandoned' is Lionel Trilling, a prominent literary critic and novelist.
- Q: What type of book is 'The Journey Abandoned'? A: 'The Journey Abandoned' is a literary novel that combines elements of criticism and theory, reflecting on the life and challenges of writers in America.
- Q: How many pages does 'The Journey Abandoned' have? A: 'The Journey Abandoned' contains 224 pages.
- Q: What is the condition of the book? A: 'The Journey Abandoned' is available in new condition.
- Q: When was 'The Journey Abandoned' published? A: 'The Journey Abandoned' was published on July 30, 2009.
- Q: What is the binding type of 'The Journey Abandoned'? A: 'The Journey Abandoned' is available in paperback binding.
- Q: Who are some key characters in 'The Journey Abandoned'? A: Key characters include Jorris Buxton, Garda Thorne, Harold Outram, and Vincent Hammell, each contributing to the narrative's exploration of literary life.
- Q: Is there an introduction in 'The Journey Abandoned'? A: Yes, the book includes an introduction by Geraldine Murphy, discussing the novel's context and its relation to Trilling's critical ideas.
- Q: What genre does 'The Journey Abandoned' belong to? A: 'The Journey Abandoned' falls under the genre of criticism and theory, with a focus on literary narrative.