At the Brink of the Abyss: Incredibility and the Rhetoric of Truth-Telling in Patrick Leigh Fermor’s A Time of Gifts
This article argues that Patrick Leigh Fermor’s A Time of Gifts (1977) is characterised by a deep and unresolved tension between the deployment of truth-telling rhetoric – textual appeals to readerly credulity customarily such as acknowledgements of the limits of authorial memory and the inclusion o...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Université Clermont Auvergne
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| Series: | Viatica |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://journals.openedition.org/viatica/2893 |
| _version_ | 1797311250963628032 |
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| author | Tim Hannigan |
| author_facet | Tim Hannigan |
| author_sort | Tim Hannigan |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This article argues that Patrick Leigh Fermor’s A Time of Gifts (1977) is characterised by a deep and unresolved tension between the deployment of truth-telling rhetoric – textual appeals to readerly credulity customarily such as acknowledgements of the limits of authorial memory and the inclusion of excerpts from journals – and the literal incredibility of its detail. A further complication introduced by Leigh Fermor’s inclusion in the text of excerpts from his youthful journals – notionally unedited but in fact partially fictionalised, as revealed by an examination of the archives. Though typically regarded as nonfiction, A Time of Gifts is, the article argues, a highly ambiguous text for which neither ‘fact convention’ nor ‘aesthetic convention’ are adequate modes of reception. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T01:55:55Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-74636fcf3e5d4115b50fe5ac8d78c148 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2275-0827 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T01:55:55Z |
| publisher | Université Clermont Auvergne |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Viatica |
| spelling | doaj.art-74636fcf3e5d4115b50fe5ac8d78c1482024-02-14T08:58:45ZengUniversité Clermont AuvergneViatica2275-0827610.4000/viatica.2893At the Brink of the Abyss: Incredibility and the Rhetoric of Truth-Telling in Patrick Leigh Fermor’s A Time of GiftsTim HanniganThis article argues that Patrick Leigh Fermor’s A Time of Gifts (1977) is characterised by a deep and unresolved tension between the deployment of truth-telling rhetoric – textual appeals to readerly credulity customarily such as acknowledgements of the limits of authorial memory and the inclusion of excerpts from journals – and the literal incredibility of its detail. A further complication introduced by Leigh Fermor’s inclusion in the text of excerpts from his youthful journals – notionally unedited but in fact partially fictionalised, as revealed by an examination of the archives. Though typically regarded as nonfiction, A Time of Gifts is, the article argues, a highly ambiguous text for which neither ‘fact convention’ nor ‘aesthetic convention’ are adequate modes of reception.https://journals.openedition.org/viatica/2893travel writingfictionalisationLeigh Fermor (Patrick)truth-tellingtravel diaries |
| spellingShingle | Tim Hannigan At the Brink of the Abyss: Incredibility and the Rhetoric of Truth-Telling in Patrick Leigh Fermor’s A Time of Gifts Viatica travel writing fictionalisation Leigh Fermor (Patrick) truth-telling travel diaries |
| title | At the Brink of the Abyss: Incredibility and the Rhetoric of Truth-Telling in Patrick Leigh Fermor’s A Time of Gifts |
| title_full | At the Brink of the Abyss: Incredibility and the Rhetoric of Truth-Telling in Patrick Leigh Fermor’s A Time of Gifts |
| title_fullStr | At the Brink of the Abyss: Incredibility and the Rhetoric of Truth-Telling in Patrick Leigh Fermor’s A Time of Gifts |
| title_full_unstemmed | At the Brink of the Abyss: Incredibility and the Rhetoric of Truth-Telling in Patrick Leigh Fermor’s A Time of Gifts |
| title_short | At the Brink of the Abyss: Incredibility and the Rhetoric of Truth-Telling in Patrick Leigh Fermor’s A Time of Gifts |
| title_sort | at the brink of the abyss incredibility and the rhetoric of truth telling in patrick leigh fermor s a time of gifts |
| topic | travel writing fictionalisation Leigh Fermor (Patrick) truth-telling travel diaries |
| url | https://journals.openedition.org/viatica/2893 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT timhannigan atthebrinkoftheabyssincredibilityandtherhetoricoftruthtellinginpatrickleighfermorsatimeofgifts |