THE SIXTH CONTINENT: A Literary History of Romney Marsh

by Iain Finlayson ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 30, 1986

Romney Marsh is a locality in Kent, on England's south coast. The first part of the title alludes to a story by an early 19th-century inhabitant of the place who wrote: ""The World, according to the best geographers, is divided into Europe, Asia, Africa, America and Romney Marsh."" It was a region so remote from centers of culture that to live there seemed like exile to another continent. In the late 19th and early 20th century, however, the Marsh, for some reason, became a favorite landing place for literary figures. Among them: Henry James, H.G. Wells, Joseph Conrad, Ford Madox Ford, Stephen Crane, Conrad Aiken, E.F. Benson, and Radclyffe Hall. There is a chapter on each of these writers and his or her associations with Romney Marsh. A concluding chapter similarly but more briefly discusses other author inhabitants. Finlayson is careful to point out at the start: ""There was never a Romney Marsh 'school' of literature, nor any Romney Marsh 'group.' But it is interesting to identify the writers and to give some account of their lives during the period they lived in Romney Marsh."" That caveat uttered, he carries out his modest project with tact and sympathy, as he gracefully weaves the biographical strands together. It would be a severe reader indeed who would ask for an explanation of why the undertaking is ""interesting."" For lovers of literary anecdote and personalia only.

Pub Date: Sept. 30, 1986

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Atheneum

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1986

Categories: NONFICTION