|
|
There are 34 critical essays on Peter Ackroyd.
Critical Essays on Peter Ackroyd
 from source:
 Critical Essay by Brian Finney
9,344 words, approx. 31 pages
 In the following essay, Finney provides an overview of Ackroyd's theoretical development and postmodern perspective—particularly his view of history, language, and authenticity, as revealed in his biographical works and fiction, notably Chatterton.
from source:
Critical Review by Peter Green
6,082 words, approx. 20 pages
In the following review, Green offers an extended negative evaluation of The Plato Papers and comments unfavorably on Ackroyd's postmodern aesthetic.
from source:
Critical Essay by John Peck
5,965 words, approx. 20 pages
In the following essay, Peck provides an overview of the major literary themes and postmodern narrative effects in Ackroyd's fiction, including extended analysis of Hawksmoor, Chatterton, and First Light. Peck offers an unfavorable assessment of English Music and contends that First Light represents Ackroyd's most challenging novel to date.
from source:
Interview by Susana Onega with Peter Ackroyd
4,772 words, approx. 16 pages
In the following interview, originally conducted on November 23, 1995, Ackroyd discusses his early life, his literary influences, his development from poet to novelist and biographer, and his views on English culture, creative imagination, and Catholicism.
from source:
Critical Review by Aileen Ward
3,744 words, approx. 13 pages
In the following review, Ward finds Ackroyd's biography of Blake lacking in original research and insight, but concludes that, despite its shortcomings, it represents a positive contribution to a complex subject.
from source:
Critical Review by John Sutherland
3,649 words, approx. 12 pages
In the following review of Dickens, Sutherland expresses reservations about Ackroyd's reconstruction and interpretation of Charles Dickens's life.
from source:
Critical Review by Michael Levenson
3,585 words, approx. 12 pages
In the following review, Levenson traces the development of Ackroyd's literary preoccupations and criticizes his conservative nostalgia for English history and cultural identity as presented in English Music.
from source:
Critical Review by William H. Pritchard
3,547 words, approx. 12 pages
In the following review of Dickens, Pritchard finds shortcomings in Ackroyd's “rhetorical habits” and the biography's contribution toward greater understanding of Charles Dickens.
from source:
Critical Essay by Leonard R. Koos
3,083 words, approx. 10 pages
In the following essay, Koos discusses elements of pastiche and the detective novel genre in Ackroyd's fiction, particularly as found in Chatterton.
from source:
Critical Review by James Wood
2,760 words, approx. 9 pages
In the following review, Wood offers an unfavorable evaluation of The Trial of Elizabeth Cree and Ackroyd's fiction in general, which he views as contrived, overly derivative, and unsubtle.
from source:
Interview by Peter Ackroyd with Amanda Smith
1,962 words, approx. 7 pages
In the following interview, Ackroyd discusses his literary career, his imaginative historical fiction, and the interrelationship between his work as a biographer and novelist.
from source:
Interview by Peter Ackroyd with Francis Gilbert
1,816 words, approx. 6 pages
In the following interview, Ackroyd discusses his recovery from a near-fatal heart attack and comments on his literary career, personal life, and recent writings.
from source:
from source:
Critical Review by Joseph Rykwert
1,619 words, approx. 5 pages
In the following review of Hawksmoor, Rykwert praises Ackroyd's literary skill, but finds flaws in the novel's historical details.
from source:
from source:
from source:
Critical Review by James Buchan
1,290 words, approx. 4 pages
In the following unfavorable review of English Music, Buchan objects to Ackroyd's sentimental literary pastiche and the postmodern notion that originality is no longer possible.
from source:
from source:
Critical Review by Trev Broughton
1,150 words, approx. 4 pages
In the following review, Broughton offers a generally favorable assessment of Milton in America, though he notes that it “is not a perfect novel.”
from source:
Critical Review by Francis King
1,127 words, approx. 4 pages
In the following review, King concludes that The House of Doctor Dee is an “imperfect but always ingenious and arresting novel.”
from source:
from source:
Critical Review by Michael Neve
985 words, approx. 3 pages
In the following review of Chatterton, Neve commends Ackroyd's commitment to “the limitless power of the imagination,” though he finds fault in the novel's historical skepticism.
from source:
from source:
Critical Review by Gary Davenport
862 words, approx. 3 pages
In the following excerpt, Davenport pans English Music for its condescending attitude and its contrived and unconvincing nature.
from source:
from source:
Critical Review by D. J. Taylor
796 words, approx. 3 pages
In the following review of English Music, Taylor finds irritating shortcomings in Ackroyd's didacticism and antiquarianism, but declines to pass final judgment on the novel.
from source:
Critical Review by Michele Roberts
770 words, approx. 3 pages
In the following review of Chatterton, Roberts finds shortcomings in the dubious intellectual games and caricatures of Ackroyd's postmodern narrative.
from source:
from source:
from source:
Critical Review by John Clute
609 words, approx. 2 pages
In the following review, Clute offers a tempered assessment of Milton in America, which, he concludes, “is a hard book to judge.”
from source:
Critical Review by J. D. McClatchy
588 words, approx. 2 pages
In the following excerpted review, McClatchy offers a negative assessment of Ackroyd's poetry in The Diversions of Purley and Other Poems.
from source:
from source:
from source:
View More Articles on Peter Ackroyd
|
