The quest for Corvo
Subtitle: an experiment in biography
By: by A.J.A. Symons ; with a new introduction by Nicholas Dawidoff.
Edition: 1st Ecco ed.
Publisher: Ecco Press
Published: 1997
Place of publication: Hopewell, N.J
Language: eng
Number of pages: 293
Subjects: Rolfe, Frederick, 1860-1913.; Authors, English -- 19th century -- Biography.
Description: First published in the United States in 1934, this extraordinary tale follows A.J.A. Symons's eight-year quest to uncover the life story of Frederick Rolfe - a.k.a. the Baron Corvo, a lonely, arrogant genius - and construct something remarkable of it. The author of the brilliant novel Hadrian the Seventh, Corvo was by turns a gifted painter, teacher, student of the priesthood, historian, and inventor of a process of "deep sea photography." He also had a veritable genius for making enemies and lived out his last years as a penniless exile. With letters (many of them masterpieces of invective), excerpts from his novels, and accounts of unusual interviews with Corvo's friends, fans, and enemies, Symons chronicles a passionate investigation into Corvo's secret life - and produces an uproariously comic, ultimately tragic, and stunningly rendered work of art.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. xv) and index.