Recollecting Dante's Divine Comedy in the Novels of Mark Helprin - by Sara MacDonald & Barry Craig (Hardcover)

About the Book

This book studies the novels of writer Mark Helprin in relation to Dante's Divine Comedy by demonstrating that Helprin's novels are both popular works of literature and serious explorations of philosophical and political themes. In the end, Helprin's novels offer a robust defe...

Book Synopsis

This book studies the novels of writer Mark Helprin in relation to Dante's DivineComedy by demonstrating that Helprin's novels are both popular works of literature and serious explorations of philosophical and political themes. In the end, Helprin's novels offer a robust defense of liberal democracy, while advocating for ancient virtue.

Review Quotes

In their own imitation of Dante's Virgil, MacDonald and Craig rescue novelist Mark Helprin from the thicket of shallow misinterpretation and present him in all his philosophic depth while preserving his artistic splendor. Without a trace of didacticism, they explore some of Helprin's major novels together with Dante's Divine Comedy, and portray how he and Dante speak to the same longings of the heart. Their pathbreaking study is no tendentious interpretation, but a philosophic and imaginative inquiry and is unhesitatingly recommended for all who love Mark Helprin's writing and serious students of the modern novel and classical literature.

Throughout their book, our authors present a carefully nuanced view of the relationship between Dante and Helprin.

About the Author

Sara MacDonald is professor and director of the Great Books Program at St. Thomas University.

Barry Craig is professor and academic vice-president at St. Thomas University.