London Through the Pen

Percy H. BoyntonChina Youth Press2015

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Chapters
12
Series
The Author and the City Series
ISBN
9787515331386

Tags

Literature Literary AppreciationForeign Literature Literary TextShakespeareHolistic UnderstandingNinth CenturyLondon10th CenturyRestoration EraChicagoBritainUrban Impressions

Summary

Originally published as London in English Literature, this book was written by the American scholar Percy H. Boynton (1875–1946). A Harvard graduate who taught English literature at the University of Chicago for many years, Boynton here examines London through the lens of literary sources. The book proceeds chronologically: from the fourteenth-century walled London of Chaucer, through the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries of Shakespeare, to the Commonwealth and Restoration eras of Milton and Dryden, then to the eighteenth century of Addison and Johnson, the Romantic period of Lamb and Byron, and the nineteenth century as seen by Dickens and George Eliot, ending with the contemporary London of the early twentieth century. The author sets literary texts against the city's geography, so that readers see both how the London within its walls gradually expanded into the Victorian metropolis and how writers of different periods left their own impressions of the city in verse drama, essays, and novels. The book offers both an overall grasp of the relationship between writers and their times and a bibliography of significant works about London from each period, with notes and appendices, making it a suitable introduction for readers approaching English literature and London's urban history together. This Chinese edition, introduced by the Yeeyan Gutenberg Project and translated by several hands, appears in the Writers and Cities series.

Editor's review

伦敦不是一座只属于地理的城市，它更像是被一代代作家反复书写出来的文本。波恩顿这本书的好处在于，他没有把文学史写成孤立的作家小传，而是让每一位作家回到他脚下的街区、咖啡馆、剧院与议会大厦，于是伦敦的城墙、泰晤士河、烟雾与街道一起成了叙述的主角。从乔叟到狄更斯，十章像十扇窗，读者在一本书里看到同一片土地被不断叠加的时间。译言古登堡计划引进的这一版采用多位译者协作的方式，分别处理历史考据与文学笔调，译文保留了原著随笔式的从容节奏。它不像旅游指南那样告诉你该去哪里，而是告诉你站在某个地方时，曾经有谁在这里写过什么。对爱读英国文学、又想弄明白小说与诗歌背后那座真实城市的人来说，这是一本温和而耐读的案头书。

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Reading tips

  1. 可按章节顺序读，每读完一章回想对应作家的代表作，印象更深。
  2. 手边备一份伦敦地图或电子地图，随章节查找书中提到的城墙、剧院与街区。
  3. 不必强求记住所有人名与年代，把本书当作按时代铺设的阅读书单使用更轻松。
  4. 读到不熟悉的作家时，先记下书名，读原著后再回来重读相关章节。

About the publisher

China Youth Press China · Founded in 1950

China Youth Press is a comprehensive publisher aimed at young readers, with publishing areas covering history, social sciences, modern romance, social fiction, management, and law. Its library currently contains 46 titles, including representative works such as Wang Chaozhu's three-volume Chiang Kai-shek and His Close Friends and Political Rivals, Zheng Yefu's social and cultural essays Resembling Ancestors, Lu Min's The Ring, Ma Xiaoyuan's Bank Archives, and practical titles such as Lu Heping's How to Talk and Act in Key Account Sales and Cheng Xianghui's Latest Practical Guide to Legal Risk Prevention in Compliant Entrepreneurship. Its authors include scholars and writers such as Wang Chaozhu, Zheng Yefu, Lu Min, Ma Xiaoyuan, Lu Heping, Cheng Xianghui, Shi Xianlong, and Wang Chunqiang, combining historical narrative, social observation, and practical knowledge to form a diverse publishing profile for young readers. As public information is limited, this introduction focuses on the publishing directions reflected in the library's titles.

Contents

  1. Preface
  2. Chaucer's London
  3. Shakespeare's London
  4. Milton's London
  5. Dryden's London
  6. Addison's London
  7. Johnson's London
  8. Lamb and Byron's London
  9. Dickens's London
  10. Victorian London
  11. Contemporary London
  12. Appendix

FAQ

这本书是一部小说吗？ 不是。它是一部文学随笔与研究性著作，原名《London in English Literature》，按时代梳理英语文学中的伦敦形象，讨论乔叟、莎士比亚、弥尔顿、狄更斯等作家笔下的城市。
本书的原作者是谁？ 作者为美国学者珀西·H·波恩顿（Percy Holmes Boynton，1875—1946），哈佛大学毕业，长期任芝加哥大学英语文学教授，另著有《文学与美国生活》《美国与当代小说》等。
中文版由谁翻译、何时出版？ 中文版由译言古登堡计划引进，王京琼、戴婧、韩阳、杨楠、刘梦星等译者合作翻译，中国青年出版社2015年4月出版，属“作家与城系列”。
需要先读过莎士比亚、狄更斯才能读吗？ 不必。书中提供了历史与社会背景，也有作品书目，零基础读者可以顺着读下去；若已读过相关作品，会更容易体会作者对文本与城市细节的对照。
同系列还有哪些书？ “译言古登堡计划·作家与城系列”还收录《巴黎速写》《爱丁堡笔记》《纽约往事》《东京物语》《都柏林城事》等以城市为主题的同类作品。

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About the author

Percy H. Boynton Author

Percy H. Boynton is an author with limited documentation in Chinese bibliographic records; only one work by him is currently available, namely London Under the Pen. Public information about his nationality, dates of birth and death, and personal biography is limited, and no reliable details can be added, so an understanding of the author must still be developed mainly through this work. Judging by its common classifications, London Under the Pen is placed under literature, foreign literature, and literary appreciation, suggesting that its writing tends to use texts as a thread to narrate and interpret the city of London, combining literary quality with an appreciation of writing. Such subject matter usually emphasizes the connections among writers, works, and the cultural atmosphere of a city, allowing readers to see how writing shapes the image of a city. Overall, Boynton is known in the collection through this single work, and his writing profile and influence await further material for a fuller presentation.