UBC #21: Monstrous Adversary

[truepenny]

UBC #21

Nelson, Alan H. Monstrous Adversary: The Life of Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 2003.

(Thanks to matociquala for the loan.)

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Monstrous Adversary is the epitome of academic biography. It is exhaustively researched and consists almost entirely of primary source material: Oxford as revealed through his own words and those of his wife, father-in-law, daughters, friends, enemies, dependents, superiors ...

It is not a flattering picture.

Nelson effaces himself almost completely, although his loathing for his subject can't be entirely suppressed. In fact, the biography is a little frustrating to read because Nelson so utterly refuses to supply any kind of a narrative framework. He gives facts and contexts, but no interpretations. And there are a lot of places where I found myself asking, "But why on EARTH did Oxford do THAT?" If it's not in the primary material, Nelson doesn't attempt to provide answers, and even though that's frustrating, I admire him for it very much.

The seventeenth Earl of Oxford was a selfish, greedy, vain, profligate man, who lied and cheated and murdered his way through an utterly undistinguished life, routinely betraying his friends and dependents and treating those who tried to help him with the utmost ingratitude.

I'll take the glover's son from Stratford, thank you.

Comments

[skeetermonkey.livejournal.com]

I read it, and enjoyed that it seems to be the only Oxford biography out there that isn't written to sell something to the audience. Oh, it sells something, all right, but Oxford is hoisted on his own pitard. The author sits back and says, "oh, look at this, says he was buggering his page from Italy, oh, look at this, says he treated his wife like crap, oh, look at this, Oxxie says that if women aren't available, a boy will do." (Undeniably in Oxford's own words.) Talk about debunking! The Oxford conspiratists all seem to routinely dismiss it and hate it because the shining light of the truth is too much for them to take. Hissing like Gollum, they creep back into the nether cracks of the arse of history to plot and bide their time, and hope that maybe someone will discover that Nelson has some huge flaw in his character that they can all point to and say, "THERE! See!!!! HE LIKES GEORGE BUSH! EVERYTHING HE WROTE WAS A LIE!"

[barriequark.livejournal.com]

"Hissing like Gollum, they creep back into the nether cracks of the arse of history to plot and bide their time"

Wow. I think I love you!

[matociquala.livejournal.com]

You are a beautiful man, man.