Monday, October 12, 2015

Reverse Hagiography

 'Reverse hagiography' is the term used in Possession: A Romance (1990) by AS Byatt* to describe the character of the sinister and obsessed biographer Mortimer Cropper:
“He had a peculiarly vicious version of reverse hagiography; the desire to cut his subject down to size.” 



Screenshot:  Page 36 of Possession: A Reader's Guide by Catherine Burgass (Google Books)


*hat tip Kerryn Goldsworthy (per Facebook discussion)
 

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