Derek Roper – författare

Emily Bronte's achievement as a poet has been in part eclipsed by that of her masterpiece, Wuthering Heights, yet the poems reveal a powerful and highly individual imagination and poetic voice. The Poems of Emily Bronte is the first edition of the poetry to appear with full scholarly apparatus: based wherever possible on the manuscripts, it preserves Bronte's original (sometimes unorthodox) presentation, and records the stages of her revisions. The lack of any surviving manuscript of the novel makes this policy particularly valuable, since it offers the reader the rare chance of watching the writer's creative mind at work.Returning to the original manuscripts has achieved a more accurate text than in any previous edition, resulting in a substantial number of new readings. The Poems records everything that could be deciphered from these difficult manuscripts, including Emily Bronte's spelling, punctuation, and numerous variants, cancellations, and revisions.The enlightening introduction and commentary place the poems in their literary context, and a large number of echoes and parallels from Scott, Byron, Moore, and other authors are identified. The 'Gondal' Poems are related to what is known of that imaginary world in which many poems are set, and a fresh attempt is made to relate these to Emily Bronte's other poems.

John Ford's tragedy, first printed in 1633, is the first major English play to take as its theme a subject still rarely handled: fulfilled incest between brother and sister. It is one of the most studied and performed of all plays of the period, and has been successfully adapted for film and radio. The Revels plays edition by Derek Roper has been the standard scholarly edition since it appeared in 1975. This new edition uses the same authoritative text, but with notes designed for modern undergraduate use. The substantial introduction has been completely rewritten to take account of the studies and new approaches of the last twenty years. It presents the play as an 'interrogative text', in which subversive meanings are inscribed within an apparently orthodox narrative; as a courageous treatment of forbidden love; and as an achieved work of Baroque art.

First published in 1978, Reviewing before the Edinburgh is a study of English literary reviewing during the fifteen years before the founding in 1802 of the Edinburgh Review, and an assessment of the reviewers’ achievement. The long introductory chapter describes the aims, methods, staffing, readership, influence, and development of the five important Reviews of the 1790s: the Monthly Review, Critical Review, English Review, Analytical Review, and British Critic. The author argues that this type of Review declined during the 19th century, not because of poor performance, but because the ambitious aim of comprehensive reviewing had become impossible to achieve. The remaining chapters discuss and evaluate the work of these Reviews, chiefly in the fields of poetry, fiction, and political and religious controversy. The book fills a gap in the literary and political history of the period; provides a compact summary of its review criticism; and gives a better perspective on both reviewers and reviewed in years that were unusually fertile in political controversy and literary experiment. It will be of interest to students of literature and history.

First published in 1978, Reviewing before the Edinburgh is a study of English literary reviewing during the fifteen years before the founding in 1802 of the Edinburgh Review, and an assessment of the reviewers’ achievement. The long introductory chapter describes the aims, methods, staffing, readership, influence, and development of the five important Reviews of the 1790s: the Monthly Review, Critical Review, English Review, Analytical Review, and British Critic. The author argues that this type of Review declined during the 19th century, not because of poor performance, but because the ambitious aim of comprehensive reviewing had become impossible to achieve. The remaining chapters discuss and evaluate the work of these Reviews, chiefly in the fields of poetry, fiction, and political and religious controversy. The book fills a gap in the literary and political history of the period; provides a compact summary of its review criticism; and gives a better perspective on both reviewers and reviewed in years that were unusually fertile in political controversy and literary experiment. It will be of interest to students of literature and history.