Précis

BOOK REVIEWS I Précis I Louise Kennelly University of North Carolina, Greensboro Berman, Art. Preface to Modernism. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1994. xii + 354pp. Paper $29.95 Berman. traces the conceptual lineage of modernism, examining its evolution in Western art and literature through empiricism, idealism, and romanticism. He claims his book "posits and elaborates a set of hypotheses intended to aggregate into an extended conceptual definition [of modernism]." From beginning to end, Berman presents an intensely abstract discussion. Casey, Daniel J. Critical Essays on John Millington Synge. New York: G. K. Hall, 1994. ix + 188 pp. $42.00 Casey's selection of essays (most previously published) offers a general reappraisal of Synge's reputation, with separate discussions of his language, prose essays, and poetry as well as individual treatments of his best-known drama, including four critical perspectives on The Playboy of the Western World. Casey's introduction reviews the criticism and previews the essays that follow. Colby, Robin B. "Some Appointed Work To Do": Women and Vocation in the Fiction of Elizabeth Gaskell. Westport· Greenwood Press, 1995. 120 pp. $49.95 Colby offers a reappraisal of the works of Elizabeth Gaskell by arguing that the author attempted to redefine femininity by associating it with the performance of labor and autonomy throughout her career. There seem to be some contradictions here: Colby, in her opening chapter, argues that Gaskell shifts the center of a society's power into the kitchen but then argues that Gaskell's real contribution was to represent a wife and mother who works outside of the home where "the dominant ideology operates." The writing here seems uneven and at times a bit plodding: The Victorian notion that women are best suited for courtship and marriage is likewise reflected in the art of the period," and "Successful at coordinating domestic duties and a career, Gaskell fits the image of the 'Superwoman/ a term used in the 1970s to denote a woman who could effortlessly merge her public and private roles." 433 ELT 38:3 1995 Collins, Laura Roberts. English Country Life in the Barsetshire Novels of Angela Thirkell. Westport: Greenwood Press, 1994. xvi + 151 pp. $49.95 This volume, the first full-length study of the Barsetshire series by Angela Thirkell (1890-1961), argues that the popular novelist had greater scope and more serious intentions than many of her reviewers recognized. Her chronicles of rural English society, set in Trollope's mythical county, are not merely amusing, asserts Collins, but present a serious and solid case for traditional middle-class values and an early concern for environmentalism. Crawford, Gary William. J. Sheridan Le Fanu: A Bio-Bibliography. Westport: Greenwood Press, 1995. 176 pp. $59.95 Known primarily for his ghost stories and mysteries, Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu (1814-1873) was a popular writer in the Victorian era. This volume provides a thorough record of works written by Le Fanu, along with a bibliography of books, articles, and dissertations about him. Culleton, Claire A. Names and Naming in Joyce. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1994. xi + 148 pp. Cloth $38.50 Paper $14.95 What's in a name? Quite a bit indeed, according to Culleton, who examines names and naming patterns from Stephen Hero through Finnegans Wake in five chapters (such as "Naming and History," "Naming and Gender"). Culleton discusses what names reveal about Joyce's thought and practice as a writer, and explores their historical, literary and cultural implications in general, stressing that naming is not only a creative act but a political one. Davidson Cathy N. and Linda Wagner-Martin. The Oxford Companion to Women's Writing in the United States. New York: Oxford University Press, 1995. xxx+ 1021 pp. $49.95 A comprehensive survey of women writers and their work along with essays on issues that affected their literary output. Women writers have worked in a remarkable variety of forms, breaking down the traditional boundaries between literary genres, testing the relationship between popular and elite forms of writing, and exploring new topics and areas that previously had not been considered legitimate topics for literature. Women have comprised the greater portion of the American reading public and this volume is a tribute to...