Mario Praz: A Symposium of Literature, History and Arts: English Miscellany Part 2

This is the second and final collection in the series of reprints of articles in English edited by Mario Praz and published in Italy between 1966 and the year of Praz’s death in 1983. It includes all articles published in English and some important papers written by Praz himself in Italian as well.

from the Preface of Toshiro Nakajima

English Miscellany—A Symposium of Literature, History and Arts, edited by Mario Praz, was issued annually by the British Council, Rome between 1950 and 1983. It is now recognized as a great contribution to English studies from the pre-Chaucer period to the present day. Praz’s writings are well known for his masterly blend of erudition, insight and wit, and are models of lucidity, sensitive to the complex inspirations and hidden meanings behind each work. His editorship of this collection reflects these characteristics, and is based on a vast knowledge of English culture and history.

This selection is a valuable contribution to our understanding of the literary and cultural environments of Britain and Italy, and gives us a thoughtful, frequently illuminating study of what has often been viewed as a gap in the production of major writers and artists. The present volumes of English Miscellany give some account of what is achieved in interdisciplinary scholarship during a period which saw many experiments in literature and art and a radically new approach to the writing of history.