Author:Peter Ackroyd
On ritual occasions Plato, the orator, summons the citizens of London to impart the ancient history of their city, dwelling particularly on the unhappy era of Mouldwarp (AD 1500-2300). He lectures on The Origin of Species by the nineteenth-century novelist Charles Dickens and on Sigmund Freud; whilst providing a glossary of twentieth century terms, and explaining such early myths of creation as 'super-string theory' and 'relativity'.
But then he has a dream, or vision, or he goes on a real journey - opinions are divided - and enters a vast underground cavern, where citizens of Mouldwarp London still live. On his return, Plato shares his stories of this lost world, but his words spread consternation among his fellow citizens and they quickly put him on trial for corrupting the youth with his lies and fables.
An invigorating mixture of satire, history, philosophy, morality and linguistic investigation... it reads like a spoof of New Age intellectualism... a lament for the millenium; a brave cry in the wilderness
—— Michele Roberts , The TimesArticulate, comic, wise, delicate, melancholy, exquisite... a carefully-pulsed breath of a book with an impact that sneaks into one's dreams
—— IndependentThe Plato Papers is a serious divertissement, a brilliant fabulation that is the product of a playful, engaged, and well-stocked mind... It unleashes large, tolling resonances
—— Boston GlobeThe Plato Papers can be enjoyed as a jeu d'esprit, but for students of Ackroyd it is something more... Richly revealing
—— New York TimesIt is hard to see who could have done the job better than Schmidt
—— Times Literary SupplementSchmidt gives us a chance to settle down with poets we wish we had known better
—— Daily TelegraphA satisfying selection that reminds us that Lawrence didn't just write about animals, Betjeman wasn't always jolly, and Plath is more interesting for her collapsed perspectives than for her self-exposure
—— New StatesmanThe selections from the greats are generous and well chosen
—— Guardian
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