Walpole Books

These two volumes inaugurated Yale's publication of the complete publication of the letters of Horace Walpole, 18th century conoisseur and man of letters. Letter writing then was an art form, and each of Walpole's letter is an individual performance. Other great letter writers of the period are (in English) Edward Gibbon, the historian, and the poet Thomas Gray, which are also recommended. Walpole, the son of the 1st English prime minister, devoted his life to collecting art, building his home outside London in Gothic Revival Style, and commenting on the literary, political, and artistic developements of the day. The editing job is excellent, if directed more towards the knowledgeable reader than to someone approaching these letters for the first time.

This book brings alive a period of British history in which pamphlet wars--not unusual in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century London--are used by the author to elucidate how Tories and Whigs work to undermine each other. I recommend this book highly to anyone with an interest in British history, English literature, politics, and culture. The author knows how to write a sentence, but more important, he knows how to write a thrilling book that goes beyond academic interest and would make anyone who is interested in history enjoy it.

Hugh Walpole is usually included in a group of English authors referred to somewhat condescendingly as "middle-brow." Like others of his era - notably J.B. Priestley and Norman Collins - he spins a good yarn, focusing in normal people doing normal things.
In The Killer and the Slain, however, Walpole explores a very different world. We follow the exploits of John Talbot as he grows up with, and eventually deals with, his tormentor in the local village.
Talbot's life changes, and gradually but quite definitely he begins to take on the personality of his (now ex) nemesis.
Walpole's account is superb. We hear these days of "identity theft" - this is a story of identity infusion.
The book is at its best when explaining Talbot's journey (descent?) into a world he has not chosen, and from which he can't escape.
Towards the end, Walpole becomes perhaps a tad heavy-handed with his brush of melodrama. That notwithstanding, this is a good tale. I came back to it after many years, and it well and truly stood the test of a second reading.

Hello there, I'm not sure how or where you came by your artist information but it is incorrect. The illustrator on this book was me, Nancy Donahue. Just letting whoever posted this book know that they really should make sure their information is correct before posting it.

I received the book in excellent condition. It is very well written. The family history will be very interesting for any one who is a Percival or Walpole family descendant!

Thanks,
BK

We often must chose a book that's an easy read, or a book with a clear research base. This book does both. A great read for anyone looking to have a successful literacy program in elementary schools. Walpole and McKenna get past the buzzwords and provide concrete examples that will help students.

This is a superb expose of Anglo-Dutch relations in the years 1721-1740. It is passionately written with unparalleled lucidity. I highly recommend it for both casual and academic readers.

I read this book because I read that the movie RHAPSODY was loosely based on it, and I did enjoy that melodramatic film. The film is really not much like the book, except that in both, the "Guest" character, the hero, has an obsessive love for the heroine, Louise, that proves very dangerous for him. I won't give away the ending of either film or novel, but you will want to find out once you get into either of them.

This is as good a book about obsessive love and infatuation as you will ever find, in any era, in any language. The music provides more of a backdrop than it does in the film (in the film the music/concerts are a real high point) but it is a good backdrop. Richardson is a descriptive, somewhat flowery writer--very good, but if you are looking for a "quick read" this is not the book for you.

If you have the time, though, and like novels with European settings that show the culture and values of an earlier time, and if you like personality studies, then you will enjoy MAURICE GUEST. I did. This would be a good book to get into on a train or plane ride, or while you are stuck in an airport.

Horace Walpole (1717-1797), owner of the paper house, was the Fourth Earl of Orford and youngest son of Sir Robert Walpole, Britain's first Prime Minister. This book is a delightful telling, in large part through Walpole's own letters, of the building and refinement of his charming Gothic castle, made in part of papier-mâché and plaster, which still stands today in Twickenham, ten miles outside of London. Walpole says several times in his correspondence that his castle is made of paper, and he uses much paper to discuss its construction and ornamentation. He based his designs for the house on collections of engravings on paper of early Gothic tombs and on the drawings of his friends Richard Bently and John Chute. He set up a private printing press at the house and produced a catalogue listing its contents, which were considerable. He also printed up tickets and gave tours of the house. And then there is the fabulous wallpaper, which in those days really did hang on the walls.

The book contains drawings by Sylvia Jones of architectural details of the house, ceramics, chimney pieces, heraldic devices, furniture, painted glass detail, wallpaper and paint effects, the garden, and a portrait of Walpole after a 1758 painting by Allan Ramsay that now hangs in the Lewis Walpole Library in Farmington, Connecticut. Includes floor plans, selected bibliography, index, and an invaluable "Brief Guide to Correspondents, Friends, Servants, and Craftsmen mentioned in the letters or text" which identifies figures appearing throughout the book.

Anna Chalcraft and architectural designer Judith Viscardi, both residents of Twickenham, have studied the house at Strawberry Hills for many years. Visit the house if you can (go to www.friendsofstrawberryhill.org for information) but read this insightful book first.

Written by Dr. Elizabeth Steele (Professor Emerita of English, University of Toledo), Sir Hugh Walpole and the United States: A Novelist's View of 1919-1936 America is a scholarly examination of the themes and works of knighted English novelist Sir Hugh Seymour Walpole (1884-1941). Drawing upon Walpole's lectures, and especially focusing upon Walpole's view of America in the roaring twenties and the Great Depression, Sir Hugh Walpole and the United States features meticulous documentation in its analysis of Walpole's insights, and especially his visit to Hollywood. Appendices include two of Walpole's short stories, "The Tiger" and "The Exile", and two of Walpole's essays, "An Englishman's View of Modern America" and "Nobody Is Safe in Hollywood." A welcome addition to library and college literary studies shelves, offering a balanced insight into the workings of American society from the point of a view of an outsider who nevertheless formed a bond with the culture of a distant soil.