Literary Authors, Parliamentary Reporters

by Hessell, Nikki

• ISBN13: 9781107013575
• ISBN10: 1107013577
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2011-12-29
• Publisher: Cambridge Univ Pr

Summary

Samuel Johnson, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, William Hazlitt and Charles Dickens all worked as parliamentary reporters, but their experiences in the press gallery have not received much scrutiny. Nikki Hessell's study is the first work to consider all four of these canonical writers as gallery reporters, providing a detailed picture of this intriguing episode in their careers. Hessell challenges preconceived notions about the role that emergent literary genius played in their success as reporters, arguing instead that they were consummate gallery professionals who adapted themselves to the journalistic standards of their day. That professional background fed in to their creative work in unexpected ways. By drawing on a wealth of evidence in letters, diaries and the press, this study provides fresh insights into the ways in which four great writers learnt the craft of journalism and brought those lessons to bear on their career as literary authors.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. vii
Preface	p. ix
Introduction: reporting and the individual talent	p. 1
Samuel Johnson: beyond Lilliput	p. 17
Samuel Taylor Coleridge and the freedom of the gallery	p. 61
William Hazlitt and the real eloquence of the British Senate	p. 97
Charles Dickens and the ghost of speeches past	p. 129
Conclusion: taking parliamentary reporting seriously	p. 167
Bibliography	p. 175
Index	p. 191
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