Diaries Real and Fictional in Twentieth-Century French Writing
Sam Ferguson
Reviews and Awards
Shortlisted for the 2019 R. Gapper Book Prize for the best book in French Studies published in 2018
"In Diaries Real and Fictional in Twentieth-Century French Writing, Sam Ferguson opts for an altogether different approach." -- Arnaud Schmitt, University of Bordeaux, European Journal of Life Writing
"Ferguson's book offers a valuable study for diary-writing scholars, which explores fascinating issues also relevant to life-writing in general...meticulous research, insightful analysis and overall quality of a volume which is a welcome contribution to French diary-writing studies." -- Sylvie Lannegrand, NUI Galway, H-France
"Ferguson succeeds brilliantly in the task of studying diary writing as a complex and plural practice, both rooted in a dynamic of transmission and influence in the literary field, and open to possibilities of transgression and renewal. Through a judicious use of bibliographical sources and a particularly attentive reading of the texts, especially in their margins, variations, and internal contradictions, Ferguson illuminates in a remarkable way the richness of the diary as a literary text, an object of research, and a point of articulation of various theoretical and practical questions." -- AutoFiction
"Ferguson's book offers a valuable study for diary-writing scholars, which explores fascinating issues also relevant to life-writing in general. ...[the] meticulous research, insightful analysis and overall quality of a volume ... is a welcome contribution to French diary-writing studies." -- Sylvie Lannegrand, H-France Review