Why the Romantics Matter

New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2015. xvi, 141 pages; 21 cm. Tight, clean copy. Dust jacket protected in a mylar cover. A fine copy of the first printing. "With his usual wit and elan, esteemed historian Peter Gay enters the contentious, long-standing debates over the romantic period. Here, in this concise and inviting volume, he reformulates the definition of romanticism and provides a fresh account of the immense achievements of romantic writers and artists in all media. Gay's scope is wide, his insights sharp. He takes on the recurring questions about how to interpret romantic figures and their works. Who qualifies to be a romantic? What ties together romantic figures who practice in different countries, employ different media, even live in different centuries? How is modernism indebted to romanticism, if at all? Guiding readers through the history of the romantic movement across Britain, France, Germany, and Switzerland, Gay argues that the best way to conceptualize romanticism is to accept its complicated nature and acknowledge that there is no 'single basket' to contain it. Gay conceives of romantics in 'families,' whose individual members share fundamental values but retain unique qualities. He concludes by demonstrating that romanticism extends well into the twentieth century, where its deep and lasting impact may be measured in the work of writers such as T.S. Eliot and Virginia Woolf." - Publisher.. 1st. Hardcover. Fine/Fine. 8vo. Collectible.