George Moore: Spheres of Influence, Kathryn Laing, Mary Pierse (eds.)
George Moore: Spheres of Influence, Kathryn Laing, Mary Pierse (eds.), Liverpool, Liverpool University Press, 2023, 288 p.
Texte intégral
1Approaching George Moore’s 100th death anniversary, Kathryn Laing and Mary Pierse, both academics, edited a book entitled George Moore: Spheres of Influence. As the title indicates, George Moore, often referred to as GM, is central to the study. The notion of “sphere” encompasses various dimensions, from artistic and scientific to personal relationships, including friends and family. The term “influence” has a dual meaning: it signifies inspiration from individuals or artistic connections, as well as Moore’s impact on writers of his generation and beyond. The book is structured into four sections, each comprising multiple essays.
2At the dawn of the 12th international George Moore conference, this book expands the critical apparatus regarding the writer’s life and works, introducing new materials – such as paratextual ones with Kathi R. Griffin and Maggie Breslin, focusing on the letters Moore sent to his mother, revealing his confessions as a young man – while also exploring areas that have not received attention until now. In alignment with the research of Adrian Frazier, Elizabeth Grubgeld and Richard Allen Cave, this collective work reveals the ground-breaking aspects of Moore’s oeuvre. Not only should this book be considered a valuable addition to the research field of Irish literary studies but it should also be read in correlation with many others. Indeed, the issue of gender is addressed by Kathryn Laing, Nathalie Saudo-Welby and Brendan Fleming. The artistic realm is also tackled by Ann Heilmann’s and Michel Brunet’s respective contributions. Additionally, a deeper analysis of the impact of French territory and history is proposed by George Hughes, while Márta Pellérdi offers new insights into a Russian concept.
3The initial section delves into Moore’s “Artistic Influences and Approaches”, which are indeed plentiful. A parallel is drawn between Moore’s Memoirs and the significance of French literature and pictorial art in his career and life, with France exerting a significant influence on him. Another one is drawn with the Russian writer Ivan Turgenev and the concept of the “superfluous man” (p. 27), reflecting a nuanced connection both authors shared with their homeland. Mary Pierse discusses the salon, highlighting its influential role due to its spherical dimension where numerous social, musical, and literary circles intertwine. Finally, an analysis of Moore’s prefaces unveils their influential power, as they help reshape the boundary between fact and fiction while offering a fresh perspective on their significance.
4The following section explores the female influence on his works, hence its title: “Cherchez la femme?”. Throughout this section, the contributors reveal how women’s voices were recognised in both public and private spheres. There was an oscillation between female emancipation and the acceptance of women, particularly in transnational and cosmopolitan circles during the fin-de-siècle era, first through the lens of the “Literary Ladies”, also known as salonnières, and then through the theme of the unsaid, more precisely silence and secrecy. Gladys Parrish, a lesser-known female writer, is the subject of a whole paper due to her reinterpretation of Moore’s Evelyn Innes, which sheds light on the influence of Moore’s novel and offers a fresh perspective on the original oeuvre.
5The penultimate section delves into Ireland’s friendly neighbour, France, and aptly titled “France: Fiction and Letters”. Moore’s affection for France is not merely tackled, as the discussion on the story of the two French star-crossed medieval lovers Héloïse and Abélard’s, written by Moore and Helen Waddell, proves; Moore’s love for France is also evident from his evolving writing style, which transitioned from impressionism to expressionism. This transition was made explicit using the railway as a lens of exploration. Before delving into fiction, Moore had to confront reality. The exchange of fourteen letters between young Moore and his mother offers a poignant glimpse into his journey to maturity, revealing his rarely-mentioned innocence to the reader.
6The last section encapsulates three major ubiquitous elements of Moore’s life, hence the necessity to devote a unique section to “Politics, Religion and Nationality”. In it, Claire Masurel-Murray, David Clare and Conor Montague guide the reader back to the place in which Moore grew up, that of Catholic Ireland. Masurel-Murray elucidates how this religion influenced him, while Clare highlights a paradox in his writings: the use of Catholic characters with English names, partly masking a desire for greater recognition of Irish identity. Territorially speaking, Montague conducts an investigation regarding the case of James Owen Hannay, who portrayed Ireland with an “acerbic eye” (p. 217) – a case of Moore’s appropriation.
7While influences on Moore are acknowledged and are worth focusing on, his influence on others, which is rarely analysed, is innovatively depicted in this book. In essence, the latter offers a comprehensive understanding of Moore’s life and literary endeavours.
Pour citer cet article
Référence papier
Sarah Levy Valensi, « George Moore: Spheres of Influence, Kathryn Laing, Mary Pierse (eds.) », Études irlandaises, 49-2 | 2024, 157-159.
Référence électronique
Sarah Levy Valensi, « George Moore: Spheres of Influence, Kathryn Laing, Mary Pierse (eds.) », Études irlandaises [En ligne], 49-2 | 2024, mis en ligne le 08 novembre 2024, consulté le 10 février 2025. URL : http://journals.openedition.org/etudesirlandaises/19020 ; DOI : https://doi.org/10.4000/12nwy
Haut de pageDroits d’auteur
Le texte seul est utilisable sous licence CC BY 4.0. Les autres éléments (illustrations, fichiers annexes importés) sont « Tous droits réservés », sauf mention contraire.
Haut de page