Idolizing authorship Literary celebrity and the construction of identity, 1800 to the present

Though fame might be fickle, it is what drives contemporary culture. We live in a celebrity society, which revolves around movie stars, pop idols, political icons, and sport heroes. However, celebrity is not only reserved for the world of entertainment or popular culture. In literary history, too, celebrities can be found. Throughout the centuries, readers have idolized writers - for their extra-ordinary life styles, their shocking opinions, or their enigmatic personalities. These 'star authors' succeeded in creating their own branded identities and continue to offer influential models of identity construction. Though celebrity authorship has received a great deal of critical attention so far, there has been no broad overview of literary celebrity that combines authors from different nationalities, eras, and statures. This volume provides exactly this. It bundles insights from scholars with expertise in a variety of national literatures. Exploring both more and less known literary celebrities, all contributors analyse how authors create a public image, and how readers co-construct the celebrity image and allow it to circulate in the cultural domain. As a whole, the volume allows for transhistorical and transnational comparisons and offers intriguing new insights in the history of literary celebrity.