Casanova's Chinese Restaurant
 First edition cover | |
| Author | Anthony Powell |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | James Broom-Lynne |
| Language | English |
| Series | A Dance to the Music of Time |
| Publisher | Heinemann |
Publication date | 1960 |
| Publication place | United Kingdom |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover) |
| Pages | 229 pp |
| Preceded by | At Lady Molly's |
| Followed by | The Kindly Ones (novel) |
Casanova's Chinese Restaurant is a novel by Anthony Powell (ISBN 0-09-947244-9). It forms the fifth volume of the twelve-volume sequence A Dance to the Music of Time, and was originally published in 1960[1] Many of the events of the novel were included in the television adaptation broadcast on the United Kingdom's Channel 4 in 1997, comprising part of the second of four episodes. There was also an earlier, more comprehensive, BBC Radio adaptation.
As with several of the earlier volumes, there is a time-overlap with previous books, the first part returning to the period before the death of Mr. Deacon. The ruined door of a fictional Soho pub, the Mortimer, provides the narrative frame of the volume.[2] However, Casanova's Chinese Restaurant concentrates on a new set of characters, principally the composer Hugh Moreland, (based on Powell's close friend Constant Lambert),[3] his fiancée Matilda, and the critic Maclintick and his wife, Audrey, whose unhappy marriage forms a key part of the narrative.
The interweaving of historical with fictional events is more notable here, and is used to illuminate the characters, as for example in Erridge's ill-considered departure for the Spanish Civil War.
Much of the book's reception was positive.[4] Casanova's Chinese Restaurant is dedicated to Harry & Rosie- Henry d'Avigdor-Goldsmid and Rosie, Lady d’Avigdor Goldsmid.[5]
References
[edit]- ^ .Lloyd, Stephen. 2018. “Casanova’s Chinese Restaurant.” Secret Harmonies: Journal of the Anthony Powell Society 8: 51–74
- ^ Hoffmann, Catherine. “‘Vistas Framed by a Ruined Door’: Anthony Powell’s Poetics of Ruins.” Études Britanniques Contemporaines 43, no. 43 (2014): 95–108.
- ^ Gould, John A. “Best Friends: Constant Lambert and Anthony Powell.” Southwest Review 91, no. 1 (2006): 93–108.
- ^ Mizener, A. (1960) Life is absurd and also a little sad: CASANOVA'S CHINESE RESTAURANT. by Anthony Powell. New York Times. Oct 09 1960:1
- ^ Jay, Mike. (2013) "Who Were the Dedicatees of Powell’s Works?" The Anthony Powell Society Newsletter.50 (spring): 9-10.
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