Ronald R. Gray – författare

Wandering Between Two Worlds: The Formative Years of Cao Xueqin 1715–1745 is a biographical account of the first 30 years of the life of the eighteenth-century Chinese novelist who wrote Honglou meng (Dream of the Red Chamber). It covers Cao Xueqin’s life from his birth in Nanjing in 1715 to the time when it is roughly estimated he began to seriously write his massive work. The book attempts to provide a brisk but broad overview of the important familial, social, historical, literary, and intellectual influences on Cao and his decision to write Honglou meng. Wandering Between Two Worlds relies upon extensive interviews done with noted mainland Chinese scholars on the novel, such as Zhou Ruchang, Cai Yijiang, Duan Jiangli, Shen Zhijun, Zhang Qingshan, and Sun Yuming, during the author’s eight-year stay in China; recent research done by Western scholars on Qing dynasty literature, gender, qing, philosophy, and education; and insights from the burgeoning field of the New Qing history. This is only the second biography of Cao Xueqin’s life to appear in English, and the first to examine in detail his early life and to be written by a non-Chinese. It is intended for students of traditional Chinese literature and culture, as well as general readers interested in the novel and features a special foreword written by the distinguished redologist Zhou Ruchang.

The American cultural historian, literary and social critic and college professor Paul Fussell (1924-2012) is primarily noted for his famous work The Great War and Modern Memory, but he also wrote and edited 21 books on a wide variety of topics, ranging from 18th century British literature to works on World War II and sardonic critiques of American society and culture. This book offers a thorough introduction to his writings and thought, and argues for Fussell's importance and relevancy. Covering Fussell's traumatic experience in World War II and the important influence it had on his life and outlook, this intellectual biography puts in context Fussell's perspectives on ethics, the human experience, war, and literature as an evaluative and critical endeavor.

A masterpiece of world literature, Honglou Meng (Dream of the Red Chamber) by Cao Xueqin (1715-1763) is widely considered China's greatest novel and serves as a compendium of traditional Chinese life and culture during the Qing Dynasty. This guide offers a comprehensive introduction and overview to Honglou Meng, providing more than 200 alphabetical entries describing characters, key events and a wide range of topics, with discussion of important themes and narrative techniques. A brief biography of Cao is included, along with a history of Chinese and English critical receptions, an extensive bibliography and recommended reading.

This is a comprehensive and detailed encyclopedia for readers of Evelyn Waugh's Brideshead Revisited, one of the most popular and critically acclaimed novels of the twentieth century. It contains 175 entries on all aspects of the novel, covering such topics as the novel's main characters; cultural, literary, and political references; themes; organization; homosexuality; the novel's critical reception; and its film adaptions. It also pays particular attention to the importance of Catholicism in the story, discussing such subjects as sin, good and evil, divine grace, time, art, and love. A helpful list of recommended readings is included.