Walter Pater's European Imagination

Walter Pater's European Imagination is an in-depth study of his fiction in dialogue with European literature, tracing the development of the European self over two thousand years. It examines his methods of composition, narrative voice, and character construction and engages with his dialogue with the visual portrait. It positions his fiction within nineteenth-century genres and discusses its significance for modernist writers.

Format: Hardback
Length: 416 pages
Publication date: 07 September 2022
Publisher: Oxford University Press

Walter Pater's European Imagination is a groundbreaking study that delves into the literary cosmopolitanism of the renowned author. It serves as the first in-depth exploration of Pater's fiction in conversation with European literature. Pater's short fictional works, often referred to as "imaginary portraits," span a remarkable two thousand years, tracing the evolution of the European self. These pieces incorporate elements of travelogue, art criticism, and discussions on myth, history, and philosophy. Through a meticulous examination of Pater's compositional techniques, narrative voice, and character construction, the book draws upon his entire oeuvre. It includes discussions of unpublished manuscripts, essays, and reviews, providing a comprehensive understanding of his artistic process.

The book engages with Pater's dialogue with the visual portrait and problematizes the oscillation between type and individual, the generic and the particular, which is characteristic of both visual and literary portraiture. It explores Pater's involvement with nineteenth-century historiography and collective memory, positioning his fiction firmly within nineteenth-century genres such as the historical novel and the Bildungsroman. Additionally, the book discusses the portraits as examples of biographical writing.

As the foundational texts from which generations of modernist life-writing emerged, Pater's imaginary portraits became crucial for such modernist writers as Virginia Woolf and Harold Nicolson. European Imagination also examines such twentieth-century successors and French contemporaries like Sainte-Beuve and followers like Marcel Schwob, shedding light on the enduring influence of Pater's work on the literary landscape.

Weight: 838g
Dimension: 241 x 162 x 24 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780192858757