Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu

Japanese: レ･ファニュ（英語表記）Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu

1814‐73
Irish novelist. He competed with W. Collins and others of his time for the title of best-selling author, but was forgotten after his death, only to be rehabilitated with the re-evaluation of Gothic romance from the 1920s onwards. A descendant of the playwright R. Sheridan, he wrote eerie tales on the themes of madness and intrigue, influencing the Bronte sisters. Originally a mystic devoted to Swedenborg, he became drawn to dark fatalism after losing his wife, and his later works such as Uncle Silas (1864) and Through a Blind Glass (1872) can be seen as confessions of his own mental breakdown.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

1814‐73
アイルランドの小説家。同時代のW.コリンズらとベストセラー作家の覇を競ったが，死後忘れ去られ，1920年代以降のゴシック･ロマンス再評価とともに復権した。戯曲家R.シェリダンの血を引き，狂気や陰謀をテーマにした無気味な物語を著し，ブロンテ姉妹に影響を与えた。本来スウェーデンボリに傾倒する神秘家だったが，妻を失ってからは暗い運命論にひかれ，《アンクル･サイラス》(1864)や《曇りガラスの中》(1872)など晩年の作品は自身の心の崩壊の告白録とも見られる。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

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