Title: Andrew Marvell : the chameleon /
Authors: Smith, Nigel, 1958-
Publisher: Yale University Press,
Year: 2010
Subjects: Marvell, Andrew,; Marvell, Andrew, Political and social views.; Poets, English Biography; Legislators Great Britain Biography; Politics and literature Great Britain History; Great Britain Politics and government; Verenigd Koninkrijk van Groot-Brittannië en Noord-Ierland.
Abstract: "The seventeenth-century poet Andrew Marvell (1621-78) is one of the most intriguing figures in English literature. A noted civil servant under Cromwell's Protectorate, he has been variously identified as a patriot, spy, conspirator, concealed homosexual, father to the liberal tradition, and incendiary satirical pamphleteer and freethinker. But while Marvell's poetry has attracted a wide modern following, his prose is known only to specialists, and much of his personal life remains shrouded in mystery." "Nigel Smith's pivotal biography provides an unparalleled look at Marvell's life, from his early employment as a tutor and gentleman's companion to his suspicious death, reputedly a politically-fuelled poisoning. Drawing on exhaustive archival research, the voluminous corpus of Marvell's previously overlooked writing, and recent scholarship across several disciplines, Smith's portrait becomes the definitive account of this elusive life."--Jacket.
Contents: Introduction: the Problem of Andrew Marvell -- Roots -- A Decade of Crises -- Poetry and Revolution -- The Tutor -- Civil Service -- Cavalier Revenge -- The Painter and the Poet Dare -- Cabal Days -- Indulgence and Rehearsal -- Brute Divines -- Arbitrary Power -- Afterlife and Revelation.