The selected works of Andrew Lang. volume 2: literary criticism, history, biography

This is the first critical edition of the works of Andrew Lang (1844-1912), the Scottish writer whose enormous output spanned the whole range of late-nineteenth century intellectual culture. Neglected since his death, partly because of the diversity of his interests and the volume of his writing, his cultural centrality and the interdisciplinary nature of his work make him a vital figure for contemporary scholars. This second volume includes the most important examples of his literary journalism, his historical and his biographical writing. In these works, Lang engages with the most important literary critical issues of the period -- whether the novel is entertainment or art, the professionalization of writing, the function of fiction and criticism – and writes on some of the central literary figures of the century such as Tennyson, Dickens and Zola. In his writings on Scotland, history and biography too the selected work shows not only the complexity and inter-disciplinary nature of his own thought but illuminates contemporary debates on the nature of genius, on national identity and on historical method.