Blasted with Antiquity Old Age and the Consolations of Literature

Given theincreasing number of old people, the proliferation of books about old age ishardly surprising. Most of these come from cultural historians or socialscientists and, when those with a literary background have tackled the subject,they have largely done so through what are known as period studies. In Blastedwith Antiquity, David Ellis provides an alternative. Skipping nimbly fromCicero to Shakespeare, and from Wordsworth to Dickens and beyond, he discussesvarious aspects of old age with the help of writers across European history whohave usually been regarded as worth listening to. Eschewing extendedliterary analyses, Ellis addresses retirement, physical decay, sex in old age,the importance of family, legacy, wills and nostalgia, as well of course asdying itself. While remaining alert to current trends, his approach isconsciously that of the old way of teaching English rather than the new.Whether ''blasted with antiquity'' like Falstaff in Henry IV Part Two, or withthe ''shining morning face'' of an unwilling student, his accessible and wittystyle will appeal to young and old alike.