Blackwell Reference Online

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This volume was peculiarly beset with catastrophic events, the first and worst of which was the very sad death of Clive Barker. Clive would have written the essay on drama and World War I; instead readers got me. Following Clive's last exit contributors suffered mysterious palsies, hospitalization, the death of close relatives, the hospitalization of close relatives, chronic administration syndrome, deadline phobia, cricket addiction, and domestic flooding. That this volume was completed at all says much about the extraordinary dedication of its essayists and to all I extend my warmest gratitude. I would like, in particular, to thank John Brannigan, John Bull, John Deeney, Gabriele Griffin, Declan Kiberd, Lionel Pilkington, David Ian Rabey, Anthony Roche and Katharine Worth for very helpful conversations and correspondence. Andy Lavender, Jan McDonald, and Victor Merriman came on board late in the project and delivered superb chapters. Christy Adair, Maggie Gale, Dan Rebellato and Simon Mills all gave useful feedback. John Lennard was, as ever, a generous and enlightening discussion partner. My work on this Companion was greatly helped by financial support from the Department of English's F. R. Leavis Fund at the University of York. My colleagues were supportive and enthusiastic: Laura Chrisman and Victoria Coulson were excellent readers, Lawrence Rainey commiserated heartily, Derek ... log in or subscribe to read full text