Location: Home > Religion & Spirituality > General > The Stranger from Paradise: A Biography of William Blake (Paul Mellon Centre for Studies)

The Stranger from Paradise: A Biography of William Blake (Paul Mellon Centre for Studies)

enlarge

Author: Ge Bentley
Publisher: Yale University Press
Category: Book

List Price: ~~Ł16.95~~
Buy New: Ł13.20
You Save: Ł3.75 (22%)

New (4) Used (4) from Ł13.20

Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars

2 reviews
Sales Rank: 158433

Media: Paperback
Edition: New Ed
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 632
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.8
Dimensions (in): 9.2 x 6 x 1.3

ISBN: 0300100302
Dewey Decimal Number: 920
EAN: 9780300100303
ASIN: 0300100302

Publication Date: April 11, 2003
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Satisfaction Guranteed

Also Available In:

•	Hardcover - The Stranger from Paradise: A Biography of William Blake (Paul Mellon Centre for Studies)

Similar Items:

•	William Blake: The Complete Illuminated Books
•	Songs of Innocence and Experience: Shewing the Two Contrary States of the Human Soul (Oxford Paperbacks)
•	Blake
•	Fearful Symmetry: A Study of William Blake (Princeton Paperbacks)
•	The Complete Poetry and Prose of William Blake

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars

The oustanding biography of William Blake May 30, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

As the first reviewer noted, this is the oustanding biography of William Blake.

The fruit of the work of a lifetime by one of the greatest of all of Blake scholars, it manages to be extremely detailed and thorough, while being eminently readable. It is both affectionate towards its subject while being critically exacting and helpful in its judgments. Its superiority over other biographies of Blake, such as Ackroyd's, largely relies in its scrupulous attention to primary sources, Bentley's determination to avoid too much critical speculation on Blake based on interpretations of his texts where corroborating primary evidence from Blake's life is slight and an extremely firm sense of the historical period and the geographical location in which the poet and painter worked. Bentley has no special position on Blake in this book and therefore no thesis to advance as such, though there are many other books available presenting speculations about Blake and his work which may or may not be true of course. Bentley seldom strays outside of the fact as we know them while noting that there is so much about Blake we do not know and perhaps never will.

Short of some new factual discovery which changes what we know of Blake definitively, it is hard to see this book being bettered for a very long time. If you are studing Blake's work, then this isn't a work of criticism and does not discuss the many and varied interpretations of his poetry and art in detail, nor does it claim to be anything else than a biography. However, the facts are fascinating enough to create an enthralling narrative of the life one of the greatest and strangest figures in British culture.

5 out of 5 stars

A Gem May 27, 2007
10 out of 10 found this review helpful

This is a gem of a book for anyone interested in Blake. It is comprehensive, well written, and covers all aspects of his life, art, and background in an interesting way. Even if your interest in Blake is one of mere curiosity, you will get a lot out of this book. Its profuse illustrations are impressive, with 136 (yes, one-hundred-and-thirty-six) plates, mostly in colour, and many more illustrations besides. The author's technique of breaking the main chapters down into small, self-contained sections is also ideal for anyone wanting to browse. I cannot recommend this strongly enough. It is absolutely first class.