The Critic in the Modern World: Public Criticism from Samuel Johnson to James Wood

In his first book, Ley (editor of the Sydney Review of Books) gathers a pantheon of well-known critics to grapple with the idea of public literary criticism, the role it plays in societal concerns, and how the critic uses constructed personae. Attempting to employ a familiar tone in the tradition of his subjects, Ley guides his reader from the 18th century to the present, summoning each of six critics to represent a particular era. Samuel Johnson stands in as the lion of the 18th century, with its burgeoning culture of publishing and literacy; William Hazlitt represents the romanticism of the early 19th century; Matthew Arnold is showcased as "the Victorian critic"; T.S. Eliot embodies the arch and ironic approach of early 20th century modernism; Lionel Trilling exemplifies the cultural hotbed of post-war New York; and James Wood, serves as the book's only living subject. Though each essay is discrete, the critics are favorably placed in dialogue with one another. Ley makes an effort to limit jargon and provide context, but while his subjects are clever and complex, the dense explication and dissection of their works and personae makes this work rather inaccessible. (May)