William Sharp (1855-1905) conducted one of the most audacious literary deceptions of his or any time. Sharp was a Scottish poet, novelist, biographer and editor who in 1893 began to write critically and commercially successful books under the name Fiona Macleod. This was far more than just a pseudonym: he corresponded as Macleod, enlisting his sister to provide the handwriting and address, and for more than a decade "Fiona Macleod" duped not only the general public but such literary luminaries as William Butler Yeats and, in America, E. C. Stedman.
Sharp wrote "I feel another self within me now more than ever; it is as if I were possessed by a spirit who must speak out". This three-volume collection brings together Sharp’s own correspondence – a fascinating trove in its own right, by a Victorian man of letters who was on intimate terms with writers including Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Walter Pater, and George Meredith – and the Fiona Macleod letters, which bring to life Sharp’s intriguing "second self".
With an introduction and detailed notes by William F. Halloran, this richly rewarding collection offers a wonderful insight into the literary landscape of the time, while also investigating a strange and underappreciated phenomenon of late-nineteenth-century English literature. It is essential for scholars of the period, and it is an illuminating read for anyone interested in authorship and identity.
The Life and Letters of William Sharp and "Fiona Macleod". Volume 1: 1855-1894
William F. Halloran | November 2018
710 | 18 colour illustrations | 6.14" x 9.21" (234 x 156 mm)
ISBN Paperback: 9781783745005
ISBN Hardback: 9781783745012
ISBN Digital (PDF): 9781783745029
ISBN Digital ebook (epub): 9781783745036
ISBN Digital ebook (mobi): 9781783745043
ISBN Hardback: 9781783745012
ISBN Digital (PDF): 9781783745029
ISBN Digital ebook (epub): 9781783745036
ISBN Digital ebook (mobi): 9781783745043
ISBN Digital (XML): 9781783746606
DOI: 10.11647/OBP.0142
Categories: BIC: BJ (Diaries, letters and journals), DS (Literature: history and criticism), DSK (Literary studies: fiction, novelists and prose writers), DSC (Literary studies: poetry and poets), 3JH (c. 1800 to c. 1900); BISAC: BIO007000 (BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Literary Figures), BIO025000 (BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Editors, Journalists, Publishers), HIS015060 (HISTORY / Europe / Great Britain / Victorian Era (1837-1901)), LCO011000 (LITERARY COLLECTIONS / Letters)
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Acknowledgements
IntroductionChapter One: 1855–1881
Chapter Two: 1882–1884Chapter Three: 1885–1886
Chapter Four: 1887–1888
Chapter Five: 1889
Chapter Six: 1890
Chapter Seven: 1891
Chapter Eight: 1892a
Chapter Nine: 1892b
Chapter Ten: 1893
Chapter Eleven: 1894
Notes
Appendix
List of Illustrations
© 2018 William F. Halloran

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William F. Halloran, The Life and Letters of William Sharp and "Fiona Macleod". Volume 1: 1855-1894. Cambridge, UK: Open Book Publishers, 2018, http://dx.doi.org/10.11647/OBP.0142
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