Subject
Re: SIGHTING
From
Date
Body
From STAN KELLY-BOOTLE
In a TLS letter (April 3, 2009) Professor Pat Rogers (EngLit, U of S
Florida), defending his case that Jeremy Thacker¹s controversial pamphlet
³The Longitudes Examnin¹d² (1714) was a satirical hoax, writes:
³The lofty Nabokovian prose of the Scriblerus group contains the idea that
they could have done for real the things [building very accurate ships¹
chronometers skb] that deluded projectors attempted in vain. Only they
would not claim the prize.² [£20,000 from the British Parlieament. See Dava
Sobel¹s best-selling ³Longitude² 1996 - skb]
Jeremy Thacker appears to have been a pseudonym. His identity remains a
mystery (unlike Pale Fire which I see has now been solved beyond dispute).
Although satirical in parts, his pamphlet included several innovative
suggestions that later helped John Harrison to win the prize. For someone
writing in 1714, JT seems to be one of the earliest authors to have been
cited for his ³lofty Nabokovian prose.² Whether ³lofty² dilutes the praise
is a matter of debated.
skb
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In a TLS letter (April 3, 2009) Professor Pat Rogers (EngLit, U of S
Florida), defending his case that Jeremy Thacker¹s controversial pamphlet
³The Longitudes Examnin¹d² (1714) was a satirical hoax, writes:
³The lofty Nabokovian prose of the Scriblerus group contains the idea that
they could have done for real the things [building very accurate ships¹
chronometers skb] that deluded projectors attempted in vain. Only they
would not claim the prize.² [£20,000 from the British Parlieament. See Dava
Sobel¹s best-selling ³Longitude² 1996 - skb]
Jeremy Thacker appears to have been a pseudonym. His identity remains a
mystery (unlike Pale Fire which I see has now been solved beyond dispute).
Although satirical in parts, his pamphlet included several innovative
suggestions that later helped John Harrison to win the prize. For someone
writing in 1714, JT seems to be one of the earliest authors to have been
cited for his ³lofty Nabokovian prose.² Whether ³lofty² dilutes the praise
is a matter of debated.
skb
Search archive with Google:
http://www.google.com/advanced_search?q=site:listserv.ucsb.edu&HL=en
Contact the Editors: mailto:nabokv-l@utk.edu,nabokv-l@holycross.edu
Visit Zembla: http://www.libraries.psu.edu/nabokov/zembla.htm
View Nabokv-L policies: http://web.utk.edu/~sblackwe/EDNote.htm
Visit "Nabokov Online Journal:" http://www.nabokovonline.com
Manage subscription options: http://listserv.ucsb.edu/