This is the weekly roundup of reviews and recommendations for paid subscribers. To access the entire archive of “Bird-Bolts,” and to receive the new edition each week, please consider supporting my work by upgrading your subscription for the price of one fancy coffee a month. Paid subscribers also get access to my “Rotation” playlist and can participate in Canonical Matchmaking. (No, it’s not a dating service.)
Dear reader,
A number of you expressed interest in finding out more about Germaine de Staël after reading the latest installment in the “Clapping Back to Misogyny” series. This is, of course, a huge topic, but I will oblige by writing a bit more about her theory of fiction from her Essay on Fictions (1795). In Wednesday’s post, I focused on the potential she sees in the novel as a form to elevate the lives of women. Today, I will paint with a somewhat broader brush and consider how her thinking converses with others who have written about the nature of imaginative literature. Also, I’ll have an update on new additions to the Rotation playlist, and I’ll tell you why you should listen to them.