Mary Butts, Ashe of Rings

Andrew Radford (University of Glasgow)

Ed. by Andrew Radford, University of Glasgow
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.08: English Writing and Culture of the early Twentieth Century , 1900-1945.
Vol. editors: Chris Baldick (Goldsmiths College, University of London), Peter Childs (Birmingham Newman University), Atasoy Emrah (University of Warwick), Louise McDonald (Birmingham Newman University), Andrew Radford (University of Glasgow)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1925

Places

France (Country of Origin; Publication/ performance)

Genres and Modes

Novel

Resources

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Ashe of Rings

, Mary Butts’ first published novel, which she described in 1933 as ‘a flop’ in terms of critical and popular reception (

Journals

, p. 429), offers researchers an instructive glimpse into the formal and conceptual intricacies of her later

Taverner Novels – Armed with Madness

(1928) and

Death of Felicity Taverner

(1932). Although Mary Butts completed a draft of

Ashe of Rings

in 1919, it proved a struggle to clinch the campaigning endorsement of Anglo-American literary patrons, even after the 1921

Little Review

published excerpts from the text (see Blondel, 1997). It is uncertain as to why

The Little Review

did not to release the entire novel. However, clues might be found in the 1921 correspondence between Ezra Pound and Margaret Anderson, which imply a combination of…

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3024 words

Citation: Radford, Andrew. "Ashe of Rings". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 07 March 2024 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=39187, accessed 17 May 2024.]

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