Formal genealogies in the author-publisher narrative: Stylistic choices and recurring themes in editorial memoir

Abstract

The paper investigates “editorial memoirs” as a specific literary genre. From the second half of the nineteenth century, in fact, with Gaspero Barbèra's Memorie di un editore up to the present day in which we record a great diffusion of autobiographical writings by Italian publisher-authors, such as Calasso, Bompiani and Ferri, editorial memoir has been marked by a series of recurring formal elements and structural approaches. Despite the diversity among different creative horizons, the constant return of certain characteristic traits leads to an overall analysis of the works. The essay analyzes stylistic and thematic choices within some texts by Italian publishers-autobiographers from the second half of the nineteenth century to the present. The goal is to identify recurring textual elements that allow for an overview of this specific literary genre, providing a different perspective to studies of publishing history.