{"product_id":"pull-devil-pull-baker-9781913861605","title":"Pull Devil, Pull Baker","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cblockquote\u003eIn Pull Devil, Pull Baker, Stella Benson presents the memoirs of a vagabond former Russian nobleman she met in a Shanghai pauper's ward, but with an accompanying commentary that questions the truth of anyone's memories in a strikingly contemporary and post-modern way. This is the first reissue of the book since its publication over 90 years ago. \u003c\/blockquote\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePull Devil, Pull Baker is one of the oddest autobiographies ever written.\u003cbr\u003eThe novelist Stella Benson first encountered an eccentric Russian\u003cbr\u003enobleman, Count Nicolas de Toulouse Lautrec De Savine in the pauper’s\u003cbr\u003eward of a Hong Kong hospital. Striking up a friendship, she found\u003cbr\u003eherself fascinated by the Count’s garrulous memoirs, written in a unique\u003cbr\u003eblend of English, French, and Russian.\u003cbr\u003eThe Count’s adventures included a stint as a Russian cavalry officer,\u003cbr\u003egold mining in California, a failed attempt to establish himself as Czar of\u003cbr\u003eBulgaria, get-rich-quick schemes, and countless romantic\u003cbr\u003eentanglements. Were these all inventions of his fervid mind, like a\u003cbr\u003elatter-day Baron Munchausen? Were they true? Could they be both?\u003cbr\u003eIn Pull Devil, Pull Baker, Stella Benson not only collected the Count’s\u003cbr\u003erecollections but provided a running commentary that reflects on the\u003cbr\u003enature of memory, truth, and the power of storytelling. In the process,\u003cbr\u003eshe created a book that anticipates by decades the ”new nonfiction”\u003cbr\u003eschool of such bestsellers as The Lifespan of a Fact and the work of\u003cbr\u003eGeoff Dyer, W. G. Sebald and others who weave together fiction and fact.\u003cbr\u003ePull Devil, Pull Baker exemplifies the unique and remarkable books\u003cbr\u003ebeing brought back to print by Recovered Books, the new series from\u003cbr\u003eBoiler House Press that celebrates the gems that have been lost to thechanging tides of critical and popular taste. Pull Devil, Pull Baker is easily the most exceptional and genre-busting reissue of 2022.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWeight\u003c\/strong\u003e: 416g\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDimension\u003c\/strong\u003e: 198 x 131 x 33 (mm)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eISBN-13\u003c\/strong\u003e: 9781913861605\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Stella Benson","offers":[{"title":"Paperback \/ softback","offer_id":44098994700538,"sku":"9781913861605","price":12.13,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0522\/4297\/2845\/products\/noImage_1_06018a95-98d8-4979-99c4-9b744233c29c.jpg?v=1655412801","url":"https:\/\/shulphink.com\/products\/pull-devil-pull-baker-9781913861605","provider":"Shulph Ink","version":"1.0","type":"link"}