George Borrow: A Bibliographical Study by Michael Collie and Angus Fraser (review)

HUMANITIES 419 attention to his continuing interest in story and interpretation, in the acts oftelling, reading, and listening. Avoiding the metaphorical sonority and critical trendiness that such subjects often encourage, Millgate deftly uncovers the subtlety and complexity of the narrative questions posed by Scott's texts. Especially notable are her readings of The Antiquary as an affirmation of the sense-making power of narrative and of Rob Roy as (in contrast) an exposure of the limitations and potential evasiveness of the narrative mode. As Millgate's stress on Scott's 'characteristic substitution of narrative sequence for analytical examination' (p 15) suggests, his alertness to the equivocal potential of narrative may well owe something to the narrative cast of his own mind. 'Even in the privacy of his Journal,' Millgate remarks, 'Scott's impulse is always narrative rather than introspective ' (p 30). Such insights open up areas for reflection. This is - in the best sense - a stimulatingbook. Itis also an exemplary one inits abilityto achieve whatJ. Hillis Miller regards as the end of criticism: 'to facilitate the act ofreading' (Fiction and Repetition, p 21). In facilitating that act, Jane Millgate has enriched the reading of Scott and his successors. (INA FERRIS) Michael Collie and Angus Fraser. George Borrow: A Bibliographical Study St Paul's Bibliographies (Winchester, England). viii, 231, illus. £22.50 Bibliographies are invariably of interest to bibliophiles, collectors, and dealers. They are generally of interest to specialist scholars, though the extent of this interest varies considerably according to the kind of bibliography attempted. George Borrow: A Bibliographical Study goes out of its way to serve Borrovians and those generally interested in the literature and culture of the Victorian period. It is therefore appropriate that the present reviewer writes as one interested in Borrow and in no way as a bibliographical expert. Collie and Fraser define their aims clearly and succinctly in their introduction. Their book, they tell us, 'is not simply a description of the first editions of [Borrow's] works, oran enumeration oftitles from the date of his first publication to the present. Rather, our aim has been to provide an account of Borrow's entire writing and publishing career.' The consideration of each Borrow item is therefore prefaced with a detailed account not only ofits publishing history (which is often complicated) but ofhowitcame to be written. As a result, this book canbe read profitably as a bibliographically oriented biography and literary study. The procedure may be somewhatunusual, butBorrowwas a decidedly unusual man and writer. In the event, subject and treatment combine well. Readers interested in Borrow's main writings from The Zincali to Romano-Lavo-Lilwill be rewarded with accurate accounts of their develop- 420 LETTERS IN CANADA 1984 ment, and learn a good deal about detailed but important points such as the additional chapter to Wild Wales that appears in some editions from 1865 onwards. The section on translations not only demonstrates Borrow's extraordinary versatility but provides information concerning such curiosities as his rendition of St Luke's Gospel into Romany. The brief section on anonymously published books is of particular interest because it discusses with authority and good sense the vexed question of Borrow's hand in Celebrated Trials and offers details plus illustrations of the Life and Adventures of the Famous Colonel Blood, a title only recently identified as Borrow's by Michael Collie. Even the amounts Borrow gained from the books published by John Murray are duly laid out in an appendix. The only previous bibliography of Borrow was compiled in slipshod and somewhat suspicious fashion by T.J. Wise in 1914. (Collie and Fraser have a fascinating note on Wise's treatment of Borrow manuscripts on p 139 which will interest anyone who has followed the long and often scandalous story of Wise's scholarly methods.) This new book puts the emphasis where itbelongs- on Borrowand his whole work rather than on Wise's own limited editions, aptly described here as ~assembly line publishing.' Packed full of valuable information on all aspects of Borrow, Collie and Fraser's study is one of those good books that ought to make other good books possible. (w.J. KEITH) Kerry McSweeney. Middlemarch George Allen...