Anthony Powell in Special CollectionsEnglish novelist Anthony Powell (1905-2000) is best known for his twelve volume sequence of novels called A Dance to the Music of Time. These were published between 1951 and 1975, and followed the fortunes of a group of English public school friends through the social changes of the middle of the twentieth century. Powell did not achieve instant fame, but his reputation grew steadily with the publication of each new novel of the Dance sequence. He has been described as 'a master of social comedy', but other critics have seen the development of his characters' lives as more tragically restricted by the patterns of a dance outside their control. In 2000, the year of Powell's death, John Stacpoole donated his Powell collection to the library's Special Collections. The collection contains many first editions of his novels, but also Powell's work as an editor and reviewer. |
