"A Dream of Stone"

"In reconstructing a pervasive "dream of stone," this interdisciplinary study draws upon wide-ranging evidence, from journalism to poetry, caricature to statuary. Focusing on the lives, work, and fame of Honore de Balzac, George Sand, and Victor Hugo, it uncovers the salient features, and traces the rise and fall of this monumentalizing vision of literary greatness, largely forgotten today yet so central to nineteenth-century French culture." "This book is complemented by sixty-seven illustrations that span a wide range of artistic media, sources, and subjects, including postcards, newspaper caricatures, and public monuments and monument makers, such as Eiffel and Rodin."--Jacket.