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Tuesday, August 14, 2018

Pre 18th century Adds to the 1001 Books to Read Before You Die 2008 edition

    The overriding theme of the original edition of the 1001 Books to Read Before You Die list is the domination of the west, and specifically, the English/English language tradition of the novel as articulated by critics of the mid 20th century- themselves English speakers and academics.  Ironically, looking at the list of books dropped by the pre 18th century selections from the second edition of 2008, we see a net loss in the 18th and 19th century of  eight titles to the pre 18th century period.   Within the books dropped women are dramatically over-represented,  with Maria Edgeworth getting two of her three books dropped from the first revision and Jane Austen and Fanny Burney each losing a minor title. 

 The other drops from the 18th/19th century are all English, and all authors with multiple titles on the original list:  Austen, Fielding, Smollett, Defoe and Swift all have other titles left over. 

  The adds- all from before the 18th century- demonstrate the increased literature on non-Western novels written prior to the 18th century "birth" of the English novel.  Only one book is in English, with places like China entering the list for the fist time.  The exclusion of the Chinese tradition from the first edition of the 1001 Books list is one of the signal failures of the original project.   The other major novel component to the 2008 edition of the 1001 Books list is the Spanish romance, which likewise has seen a revival of interest from English language academics seeking to redress omissions of scholarship from the past century. 


Adds:

Pre 18th century

269. The Adventurous Simplicissimus – Hans von Grimmelshausen
270. The Conquest of New Spain – Bernal Diaz del Castillo
271. The Travels of Persiles and Sigismunda – Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra
272. Thomas of Reading – Thomas Deloney
273. Monkey: Journey to the West – Wu Cheng’en
274. The Lusiad – Luis Vaz de Camoes
275. The Life of Lazarillo de Tormes – Anonymous
276. Amadis of Gaul – Garci Rodriguez de Montalvo
277. La Celestina – Fernando de Rojas
278. Tirant lo Blanc – Joanot Martorell
279. The Water Margin – Shi Nai’an
280. Romance of the Three Kingdoms – Luo Guanzhong
281. The Tale of Genji Murasaki – Shikibu
282. The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter – Unknown 

Drops:
18th/19th century

269. Persuasion – Jane Austen
270. Ormond – Maria Edgeworth
271. The Absentee – Maria Edgeworth
272. Cecilia – Fanny Burney
273. Amelia – Henry Fielding
274. Roderick Random – Tobias George Smollett
275. Roxana – Daniel Defoe
276. A Tale of a Tub – Jonathan Swift

Pre 18th century
277. The Pilgrim’s Progress – John Bunyan
278. Euphues: The Anatomy of Wit – John Lyly
279. Aithiopika – Heliodorus
280. Chaireas and Kallirhoe – Chariton
281. Metamorphoses – Ovid
282. Aesop’s Fables – Aesopus



18th Century Literature 1001 Books to Read Before You Die (2006)

Hyperion – Friedrich Hölderlin (11/1/09)
The Nun – Denis Diderot (4/28/12)
Camilla – Fanny Burney (1/17/12)
The Monk – M.G. Lewis (3/13/10)
Wilhelm Meister’s Apprenticeship – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (4/17/12)
The Mysteries of Udolpho – Ann Radcliffe (04/24/12)
The Interesting Narrative – Olaudah Equiano (3/05/12)
The Adventures of Caleb Williams – William Godwin (4/21/12)
Justine – Marquis de Sade (5/1/12)
Vathek – William Beckford (1/21/10)
The 120 Days of Sodom – Marquis de Sade (2/16/10)
Cecilia – Fanny Burney (4/22/10) (DROP 2008)
The Confessions – Jean-Jacques Rousseau (5/7/12)
Dangerous Liaisons – Pierre Choderlos de Laclos (5/21/12)
Reveries of a Solitary Walker – Jean-Jacques Rousseau (5/8/12)
Evelina – Fanny Burney (3/28/10)
The Sorrows of Young Werther – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (11/1/08).
Humphrey Clinker – Tobias George Smollett (1/30/12)
The Man of Feeling – Henry Mackenzie (4/12/12)
A Sentimental Journey – Laurence Sterne (4/23/11)
Tristram Shandy – Laurence Sterne (10/19/08)
The Vicar of Wakefield – Oliver Goldsmith (9/25/08)
The Castle of Otranto – Horace Walpole (04/26/12)
Émile; or, On Education – Jean-Jacques Rousseau (4/14/12)
Rameau’s Nephew – Denis Diderot (4/13/12)
Julie; or, the New Eloise – Jean-Jacques Rousseau (*)
Rasselas – Samuel Johnson (3/30/12)
Candide – Voltaire (3/23/12)
The Female Quixote – Charlotte Lennox (5/10/10)
Amelia – Henry Fielding (4/20/12) (DROP 2008)
Peregrine Pickle – Tobias George Smollett (4/19/12)
Fanny Hill – John Cleland (05/10/12)
Tom Jones – Henry Fielding (9/24/08)
Roderick Random – Tobias George Smollett (10/05/08)  (DROP 2008)
Clarissa – Samuel Richardson (4/30/12)
Pamela – Samuel Richardson (10/12/08)
Jacques the Fatalist – Denis Diderot (05/4/12)
Memoirs of Martinus Scriblerus – J. Arbuthnot, J. Gay, T. Parnell, A. Pope, J. Swift (3/21/12)
Joseph Andrews – Henry Fielding (2/8/08)
A Modest Proposal – Jonathan Swift (3/26/12) (DROP 2008)
Gulliver’s Travels – Jonathan Swift (04/25/12)
Roxana – Daniel Defoe (4/18/12) (DROP 2008)
Moll Flanders – Daniel Defoe (2/10/08)
Love in Excess – Eliza Haywood (11/1/08)
Robinson Crusoe – Daniel Defoe (2/11/08)
A Tale of a Tub – Jonathan Swift (2/12/08) (DROP 2008) 

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