the Englsih
Gentleman is an exotic survivor of the modern world who has much to
tell about the conduct of life, and about customs and social
conditions that have not altogether vanished. With his ancestor
worship, self-protective habits, rituals, and prohibitions, he is
nothing so much as a member of an extraordinary tribe. What is a
gentleman? Is the status term that people often use vaguely in any
way important for contemporary life? Why do we continue to hold the
image of the gentleman in such a high esteem? Originating in Dr.
Castronovo's fascination with Dickens's Great Expectations and his
story of a young boy's social ambitions, this book explores one of
the key ideals and life-styles of our cultural heritage. It offers a
wide-ranging exploration of the value- and weakness - of one of
civilization's recurring models of excellence, Through consideration
of novelists as diverse as Thackeray and D.H. Lawrence, and a variety
of essayist, poets, courtesy writers, and social commentators through
the centuries, the multifaceted image of the English gentleman is
examined and appreciated as a cultural artifact. The gentlemean is
typified in chapters that deal with birth, wealth, honor, breeding,
religion, and education, Ideal conceptions of how the gentleman is
meant to occupy his time are also fruitfully explored. In its keen
and lively illumination of this life-style. The English Gentleman is
certain to enlighten today's reader. David Castronovo holds a
doctorrate from Columbia University and has written widely on
literary criticism and modern literature and thought. His 1985
volume, Edmund Wilson, was a New york Times Notable Book. A new
study, Thornton Wilder, reevaluetes the writer in the context of the
modernist tradition. Dr. Castronovo is associate professor of English
at Pace University, New York. .
DAVID CASTRONOVO
Obituary
CASTRONOVO--Professor
David A., 65, of Manhattan died suddenly on November 19. The C.
Richard Pace Professor at Pace University in New York City where he
taught English literature and composition for more than 30 years,
David was the author of a dozen books on literary subjects, including
Blokes: The Bad Boys of British Literature (2009). His first book,
Edmund Wilson, was named a New York Times Notable Book in 1985. The
week he died his review of Christopher Hitchens' memoir Hitch-22
appeared in Commonweal and was billed on its cover. David attended
Brooklyn College and received his Masters and Ph.D. in English from
Columbia University. A specialist in Victorian studies, he wrote his
dissertation on the English gentleman, a subject that he expanded
upon and turned into a book in 1987. He is survived by his sister
Val, his brother-in-law Alan Waxman, his niece Olivia, and a legion
of friends, many of whom he mentored. David's kindness, erudition and
rapier wit will be greatly missed. A funeral mass will be held
Wednesday at 11:30am at St. Ignatius Loyola Church at 84th and Park
Avenue. Please consider donations in David's memory to the English
Department at Pace University or Columbia University's Graduate
School of Arts & Sciences.
Published in The New
York Times on Nov. 22, 2010
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