Male Love: A Problem in Greek Ethics and Other Writings

Politics & Social Sciences

SYMONDS, John Addington

Social Sciences

Pagan Pr

A new edition of Percy Bysshe Shelley's translation of Plato's dialogue, THE BANQUET (more commonly known as The Symposium). 
Witty, sexy and radiantly beautiful, the Shelley translation of Plato's great Dialogue on Love is by far the best in the English language. It has been described as conveying "much of the vivid life, the grace of movement, and the luminous beauty of Plato" -- "the poetry of a philosopher rendered by the prose of a poet". 
Although a masterpiece in its own right, the Shelley translation is unknown even to most students of English literature. Amazingly, it was suppressed and then bowdlerized for well over a century. In 19th century Britain, male love -- at the heart of the dialogue -- was unmentionable. 
THE BANQUET and Shelley's accompanying essay, "A Discourse on the Manners of the Antient Greeks", were not published in their entirety until 1931, and then in an edition of 100 copies intended "for private circulation only". 
For many years, the Shelley translation has been unobtainable, new or used. Pagan Press now offers a new edition, which is complete, authentic and readable. 
John Lauritsen, editor and publisher of the new edition, has stated: 
"In the canon of great books dealing with male love, Shelley's translation of Plato's BANQUET belongs at the head of the list. It is deplorable that this masterpiece has suffered first suppression, then bowdlerization, and finally neglect. I believe it should be available to readers now, and for so long as the English language lives."

The Banquet

Literature & Fiction

Plató

Poetry

John Lauritsen debunks the myth that Frankenstein was written by a teenaged girl, Mary Godwin (later Mary Shelley), who took part in a ghost-story contest in Geneva, had a nightmare, and was inspired to write a story "which would frighten my reader as I myself had been frightened that night!" Lauritsen examines the Frankenstein text, along with works that Mary Shelley wrote entirely on her own, to demonstrate that she was a weak and sentimental writer, incapable of writing Frankenstein. He takes a long, hard look at the extra-textual evidence that has been used to argue for her authorship, and shows that none of it stands up to scrutiny. In reality, Frankenstein is not just a scary story, but a work of profound and radical ideas, written in poetically powerful prose by one of the greatest poets in the English language, Percy Bysshe Shelley. For personal reasons he chose to conceal his authorship. This book has three theses: 1. Frankenstein is a great work, which has consistently been underrated and misinterpreted. 2. The real author of Frankenstein is Percy Bysshe Shelley, not his second wife, Mary. 3. Male love is a central theme of rankenstein. According to Lauritsen, male love, as romantic male friendship, is a central theme of Frankenstein. Sometimes the expressions of male love are remarkably direct, but at other times they are expressed in coded language or references known only to the "initiated". He uses his skills as a gay historian to decode and interpret these references.

The Man Who Wrote Frankenstein

Biographies & Memoirs

Lauritsen, John

Arts & Literature

See the best price to sell, buy or rent books by the Pagan Pr publisher. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Pagan Pr