Leigh Hunt and the London Literary Scene

Reviews:
“Michael Eberle-Sinatra’s Leigh Hunt and the London Literary Scene is an extremely useful guide to the vagaries of Hunt’s reputation between 1805 and 1828. Admirably concise, clearly written and well-organized, this study grew from Eberle-Sinatra’s deep delving into Romantic-era reviews and articles in search of a thorough picture of the early phase of Hunt’s career. The book also offers a very perceptive critical analysis of some of Hunt’s major writings, such as the under-appreciated Story of Rimini. Eberle-Sinatra is very good on Hunt’s innovative and controversial stylistic ideas and practices, and covers much ground that [Nicholas Roe’s Fiery Heart] does not. This book is so good and helpful that one very much wishes that the author will write a second volume to cover the rest of Hunt’s fruitful career. Roe’s and Eberle-Sinatra’s excellent books complement each other very well, and they should stand next to each other on the bookshelf of anyone interested in this very important Romantic figure.” (Jeffery Vail, Keats-Shelley Journal)

“Leigh Hunt has always been a problem: everyone has heard of him, most have a good grip on his importance to Keats and Shelley, many sympathize with his politics and thus try not to laugh at references to yellow britches and Cockney rhapsodies, but few read him in any depth. The subtitle of Michael Eberle-Sinatra’s useful new monograph makes an implicit claim that we should. ... Eberle-Sinatra makes a good case for a renewed appreciation of Hunt’s ‘keen political sense’ and ‘sharp critical judgment’ (126); he steers clear of the yellow trousers and familiar Byroniana, and tempts us to read in more depth. It’s a fine, judicious monograph based on a trove of research”. (David Latané, European Romantic Review)

“The publication in six volumes of The Selected Writings of Leigh Hunt (Pickering & Chatto, 2003), of which Michael Eberle-Sinatra was one of the general editors, consolidated the recent revival of interest in the life and writings of Leigh Hunt. ... The next stage of Hunt scholarship will find Eberle-Sinatra’s latest contribution to be an eminently useful survey, as his title suggests, of the reception history of Hunt’s major works during the Romantic period. ... Eberle-Sinatra admirably meets the goal he sets for himself by providing a largely descriptive survey, but he also offers an engaging discussion of Hunt’s generic innovations and a sustained reading of the difficult idea of ‘independence’ that Hunt both championed and struggled with over the course of his career. Two instances where the book’s treatment of these themes is particularly strong are in its discussion of Hunt’s contributions to the genre of theatrical criticism and travel writing. Hunt’s insistence on an independent response to plays and actors, Eberle-Sinatra suggests, allows him to create a new kind of cultural criticism, at once intensely personal yet unbiased and neutral, written by a critic who ‘empowers his readers by informing them of the principles that guide his judgment.’ In his reactions to Italy, we find, Hunt revises the established genre of travel writing by combining it with the new essayistic, familiar, and informal mode that, in typical Cockney fashion, attempts to widen the circle of sociability by addressing the reader as ‘another friend, welcome to eavesdrop on Hunt’s conversations. Above all, ... by providing a clear guide to the reception history of Hunt’s major works, Leigh Hunt and the London Literary Scene performs a notable service for scholarship currently underway and soon to commence on this dynamic and enduring figure." (Daniel E. White, University of Toronto Quarterly)

"Eberle-Sinatra states on his first page that his book is intended ‘to underscore the literary innovations made in Hunt's writing during the first three decades of the nineteenth century, and to show how Hunt was independent in his critical approach and his use of poetic language’ (1). He admits frankly that his goal is ‘not to attempt an exhaustive history ... but rather to present a starting point for further enquiry’ (7). In this he succeeds admirably. ... Eberle-Sinatra is thorough in his overviews not only of each work, but also of critical responses to them, both published reviews and commentaries and private responses.” (Emily A. Berhnard Jackson, The Wordsworth Circle)

“Michael Eberle-Sinatra’s highly accessible study is a worthy contribution to the recent rise of interest in the work of Leigh Hunt. Focusing on 1805–1828, the study aims to regain a sense of Hunt as a prolific and influential writer through an exploration of his originality as a poet and critic. Eberle-Sinatra reads these innovations in the context of Hunt’s public life and reputation, and it is helpful to have his work placed in this way alongside the reviews it generated." (Essaka Joshua, Romantic Textualities)