The Sappho History

In The Sappho History, Margaret Reynolds traces the story of the reception of Sappho's poetry and her afterlife in literature and art from the mid 18th century to the present day. For women writers in the Romantic period, she symbolized possibility; for the young Tennyson, she was a private ancestor helping him make his own name as a poet. Richly illustrated throughout, The Sappho History provides a new view of Western culture from the Romantic period to the Modern.

Margaret Reynolds is Reader in English, Queen Mary and Westfield College, University of London.

In The Sappho History, Reynolds (Univ. of London) explores the influence of the prominent sixth century B.C.E. poet. Continuing her previous title, The Sappho Companion, which covered the various literary references to Sappho from the Roman era to the 18th century, this work follows the tenth muse's "afterlife in cultural transmission and in the cultural imagination" from the mid-18th century to the early 20th century in Europe. Reynolds traces the evolution of the myth of Sappho: from the mother of lyric poetry, to a famous lesbian, to a suicidal or fallen woman. Although Sappho is the theme of the work, each chapter is actually a close reading of the works of specific artists who were influenced by their reading of Sappho's poetry. Reynolds's in-depth analysis and critical eye uncover hidden meaning in the works of Tennyson, Swinburne, Baudelaire, Mary Robinson, H.D., Virginia Woolf, and others. This well-researched and interesting work is recommended for all academic and public collections.-Paolina Taglienti, New York Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.