Book Description

The Intriguing and Fresh Material Brought to Light in These Essays on Malcolm Lowry is sure to stimulate discussion and debate. With the publication of Under the Volcano, Lowry became a cult hero in literary circles on both sides of the Atlantic. This fascinating collection explores the life of the man -- including memoirs by people Lowry knew at important stages of his life -- and offers critical insight into his writings, including novels, poetry, and letters, three written when he was a schoolboy and undergraduate and two that he wrote in the last months of his troubled life. The essays in A Darkness that Murmured focus on a variety of issues: the literary manifestations of Lowry's tortured sexuality; notions of 'degeneracy' and 'degeneration' using contemporary theories of Havelock Ellis's; Lowry's travel fiction as the expression of 'intellectual migration' across class barriers; 'anxiety of influence' and the critical problem of Lowry's plagiarism. These essays, while diverse in approach and content, hang together remarkably well -- this is not only a collection of excellent essays but an excellent collection of essays. An essential addition to Lowry studies, this volume will captivate Lowry specialists and general readers alike.