Spectacular Disappearances

How can people in the spotlight control their self-representations when the whole world seems to be watching? The question is familiar, but not new. Julia Fawcett examines the stages, pages, and streets of eighteenth-century London as England's first modern celebrities performed their own strange an...

Cur síos iomlán

Sábháilte in:
Sonraí bibleagrafaíochta
Príomhchruthaitheoir: Fawcett, Julia H.
Formáid: Online
Teanga:Béarla
Foilsithe / Cruthaithe: University of Michigan Press 2021
Ábhair:
Rochtain ar líne:OCN: 1269092298
Clibeanna: Cuir clib leis
Níl clibeanna ann, Bí ar an gcéad duine le clib a chur leis an taifead seo!
_version_ 1869530288348987392
author Fawcett, Julia H.
author_browse Fawcett, Julia H.
author_facet Fawcett, Julia H.
author_sort Fawcett, Julia H.
collection Directory of Open Access Books
description How can people in the spotlight control their self-representations when the whole world seems to be watching? The question is familiar, but not new. Julia Fawcett examines the stages, pages, and streets of eighteenth-century London as England's first modern celebrities performed their own strange and spectacular self-representations. They include the enormous wig that actor Colley Cibber donned in his comic role as Lord Foppington— and that later reappeared on the head of Cibber's cross-dressing daughter, Charlotte Charke. They include the black page of Tristram Shandy, a memorial to the parson Yorick (and author Laurence Sterne), a page so full of ink that it cannot be read. And they include the puffs and prologues that David Garrick used to heighten his publicity while protecting his privacy; the epistolary autobiography, modeled on the sentimental novel, of Garrick's protégé George Anne Bellamy; and the elliptical poems and portraits of the poet, actress, and royal courtesan Mary Robinson, a.k.a. Perdita.Linking all of these representations is a quality that Fawcett terms "over-expression," the unique quality that allows celebrities to meet their spectators' demands for disclosure without giving themselves away. Like a spotlight so brilliant it is blinding, these exaggerated but illegible self-representations suggest a new way of understanding some of the key aspects of celebrity culture, both in the eighteenth century and today. They also challenge divides between theatrical character and novelistic character in eighteenth-century studies, or between performance studies and literary studies today. The book provides an indispensable history for scholars and students in celebrity studies, performance studies, and autobiography— and for anyone curious about the origins of the eighteenth-century self.
format Online
id doab-20.500.12854ir-71993
institution Directory of Open Access Books
language eng
publishDate 2021
publishDateRange 2021
publishDateSort 2021
publisher University of Michigan Press
publisherStr University of Michigan Press
record_format ojs
spelling doab-20.500.12854ir-719932025-07-31T19:41:47Z Spectacular Disappearances Fawcett, Julia H. Performing Arts thema EDItEUR::A The Arts::AT Performing arts::ATD Theatre studies How can people in the spotlight control their self-representations when the whole world seems to be watching? The question is familiar, but not new. Julia Fawcett examines the stages, pages, and streets of eighteenth-century London as England's first modern celebrities performed their own strange and spectacular self-representations. They include the enormous wig that actor Colley Cibber donned in his comic role as Lord Foppington— and that later reappeared on the head of Cibber's cross-dressing daughter, Charlotte Charke. They include the black page of Tristram Shandy, a memorial to the parson Yorick (and author Laurence Sterne), a page so full of ink that it cannot be read. And they include the puffs and prologues that David Garrick used to heighten his publicity while protecting his privacy; the epistolary autobiography, modeled on the sentimental novel, of Garrick's protégé George Anne Bellamy; and the elliptical poems and portraits of the poet, actress, and royal courtesan Mary Robinson, a.k.a. Perdita.Linking all of these representations is a quality that Fawcett terms "over-expression," the unique quality that allows celebrities to meet their spectators' demands for disclosure without giving themselves away. Like a spotlight so brilliant it is blinding, these exaggerated but illegible self-representations suggest a new way of understanding some of the key aspects of celebrity culture, both in the eighteenth century and today. They also challenge divides between theatrical character and novelistic character in eighteenth-century studies, or between performance studies and literary studies today. The book provides an indispensable history for scholars and students in celebrity studies, performance studies, and autobiography— and for anyone curious about the origins of the eighteenth-century self. 2021-09-24T04:02:24Z 2021-09-24T04:02:24Z 2021-09-23T05:32:33Z 2016 book OCN: 1269092298 https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/50660 9780472900619 https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/71993 eng open access image/jpeg image/jpeg image/jpeg image/jpeg image/jpeg n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/50660/1/external_content.pdf https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/50660/1/external_content.pdf https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/50660/1/external_content.pdf https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/50660/1/external_content.pdf https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/50660/1/external_content.pdf University of Michigan Press University of Michigan Press b7359529-e5f7-4510-a59f-d7dafa1d4d17 Knowledge Unlatched 9780472900619 Knowledge Unlatched (KU) Knowledge Unlatched Round 2 University of Michigan Press open access
spellingShingle Performing Arts
thema EDItEUR::A The Arts::AT Performing arts::ATD Theatre studies
Fawcett, Julia H.
Spectacular Disappearances
title Spectacular Disappearances
title_full Spectacular Disappearances
title_fullStr Spectacular Disappearances
title_full_unstemmed Spectacular Disappearances
title_short Spectacular Disappearances
title_sort spectacular disappearances
topic Performing Arts
thema EDItEUR::A The Arts::AT Performing arts::ATD Theatre studies
topic_facet Performing Arts
thema EDItEUR::A The Arts::AT Performing arts::ATD Theatre studies
url OCN: 1269092298
work_keys_str_mv AT fawcettjuliah spectaculardisappearances