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Essaying Montaigne: A Study of the Renaissance Institution of Writing and Reading »

Authors: John O'Neill
ISBN-13: 9780853235071, ISBN-10: 0853235074
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Liverpool University Press
Date Published: January 2002
Edition: (Non-applicable)

Author Biography: John O'Neill

Book Synopsis

O'Neill (sociology, York U., Toronto, Ontario), in this revision of a work first published in 1982, examines the Essays of Montaigne and their critical reception. In particular, the ethical system that Montaigne composed based on his notion of friendship is analyzed with attention to how this system was applied to other relationships. The study is also attentive to the act of writing and Montaigne's understanding of its relation to the human condition. Distributed by ISBS. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

	Preface to the revised edition
	To the Reader	1
1	Society and Self-study: the Problem of Literary Authority	13
2	Literary Anxiety and the Romance of Books	33
3	Rival Readings	51
4	Writing and Embodiment	69
5	Reading and Temperament	87
6	The Paradox of Communication: Reading the Essays Otherwise	107
7	Portrait of the Essayist Without Qualities	127
8	On Public and Private Life	153
9	Civilisation, Literacy and Barbarism	177
10	On Living and Dying as We Do	201
	Notes	223
	Bibliography	245
	Index	261