Confessions of the Fox

Confessions of the Fox is a novel by American writer and academic Jordy Rosenberg, first published in 2018. It re-imagines the lives of Jack Sheppard, eighteenth-century English thief and jail-breaker, and his lover Edgeworth Bess.

Confessions of the Fox
AuthorJordy Rosenberg
CountryUnited States of America
LanguageEnglish
PublisherPenguin Random House
Published in English
2018

Plot

The novel is structured as a story within a story.[1] A 21st-century academic, Dr Voth, discovers a manuscript that claims to be the confessions of Jack Shepphard. The manuscript reveals that Shepphard (like Voth) is a transgender man, and describes his experience of transitioning gender.[2] It also reveals that Bess is of South Asian (Lascar) descent and that she grew up in the Fens.[3] The manuscript documents Shepphard's love affair with Bess, their criminal escapades, their memories of childhood, and their run-ins with authority. Voth's annotations to the manuscript begin as scholarly comments on its likely authenticity but soon become more personal, comically documenting his recent break-up and his difficulties at work. The novel offers satirical commentary on historical and contemporary political issues, including over-policing and surveillance, racism, the dredging of the Fens, and managerialism in 21st-century universities.[4][5][6]

In fictionalizing Shepphard's story, the novel continues a tradition established by Daniel Defoe, John Gay (The Beggar's Opera), Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill (The Threepenny Opera).[7]

Critical reception

The novel was named a "book of the year" by the New Yorker,[8] Huffington Post[9] and Kirkus Reviews[10]. It was a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award and was shortlisted for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize.


gollark: I think this is a reasonable amount of bots, for now.
gollark: Well, they "stepped back" then posted things in <#800375008299057203> talking about it and then started talking about it again.
gollark: This server was split off from it in the wake of this due to people retroactively interpreting palaiologistic behavior as showing that they are not interested in listening to their community.
gollark: Approximate and heavily biased summary: palaiologos suddenly demanded that all (future?) events not require specifically Python after being annoyed by HelloBoi's event somehow and apparently past ones, and ubq shut down the code guessing event and left.
gollark: Weren't you one of the primary supporters, even?

References
  1. Eyre, Hermione (2018-12-05). "Confessions of the Fox by Jordy Rosenberg review – a trans hero for the 18th century". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-08-13.
  2. Waldman, Katy (2018-06-27). ""Confessions of the Fox" Is a Cunning Metafiction of Vulpine Versatility". ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved 2019-08-13.
  3. Eyre, Hermione (2018-12-05). "Confessions of the Fox by Jordy Rosenberg review – a trans hero for the 18th century". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-08-13.
  4. Fallon, Claire (2018-06-22). "The Impossible Dream Of Jordy Rosenberg". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2019-08-13.
  5. "An Academic Adventure Goes Awry In 'Confessions Of The Fox'". NPR.org. Retrieved 2019-08-13.
  6. Masad, Ilana (2018-07-17). "Review: Confessions of the Fox by Jordy Rosenberg". Columbia Journal. Retrieved 2019-08-14.
  7. Woodhead, Cameron (2018-09-12). "Confessions of the Fox review: Jordy Rosenberg's playful historical metafiction". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2019-08-13.
  8. Waldman, Katy (2018-12-04). "The Best Books of 2018". ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved 2019-08-13.
  9. Fallon, Claire (2018-12-07). "The Best Fiction Of 2018". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2019-08-13.
  10. "Best Fiction of 2018". Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved 2019-08-13.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.