{"product_id":"the-letters-of-kingsley-amis-9780002570954","title":"The Letters of Kingsley Amis","description":"\u003cp\u003eIn 1954  Kingsley Amis grabbed the attention of the literary world as one of the Angry Young Men with his first novel Lucky Jim. He maintained a public image of blistering intelligence  savage wit  and belligerent fierceness of opinion until his death in 1995. In his letters  he confirms the legendary aspects of his reputation  and much more. This collection contains more than eight hundred letters that divulge the secrets of the artist and the man  with an honesty and immediacy rare in any biography or memoir.  Amis  so assured in his pronouncements on fellow writers  grapples privately with fears  self-doubts  ambitions  and personal disasters. He is wildly funny  indulging in mordant gossip and astonishing frankness with his intimate friends and lovers. Some letters are dashed off with signature frustration; others are written with painstaking and painful circumspection. They make vivid the triumphs and tumult of his life and his times  from post-war Britain through the Thatcher era  as well as his attractions to women  jazz  drink  and the comic possibilities of the English language.  As an intellectual pugilist who took no prisoners  Kingsley Amis had few peers. These letters  at times scandalous  at times tragic  reinforce his historical relevance and literary stature.  About the Authors:  KINGSLEY AMIS was born in London in 1922. From his fictional debut with Lucky Jim to his death in 1995  he published twenty-five novels and numerous works of non-fiction  verse  volumes of short stories  and anthologies of poetry and prose. He was also a prolific critic and polemicist in newspapers and magazines. He was knighted in 1990.  ZACHARY LEADER is professor of English literature at the University of Surrey Roehampton. Among his books are Reading Blakes Songs  Writers Block  and Revision and Romantic Authorship. He lives in London  and is a regular contributor to The London Review of Books and The Times Literary Supplement.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45276776759349,"sku":"ByrdShop_0002570955","price":99.16,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9780002570954.jpg?v=1780562488","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/the-letters-of-kingsley-amis-9780002570954","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}