Author | Cyril Connolly |
---|---|
Language | English |
Genre | Literary criticism Autobiography |
Publisher | George Routledge & Sons |
Publication date | 1938 |
Publication place | United Kingdom |
Enemies of Promise[1] is a critical and autobiographical work by English writer Cyril Connolly published in 1938,[2] later enlarged when it was first reprinted in 1948.[3] Together with The Unquiet Grave (1944), it is one of the two books for which the author is mainly remembered.[4]
It comprises three parts, the first dedicated to Connolly's observations about English literature and the English literary world of his time, the second a list of adverse elements that affect the ability to be a good writer and the last an account of Connolly's early life. The overarching theme of the book is the search for understanding why Connolly, though he was widely recognised as a leading man of letters and a highly distinguished critic, failed to produce a major work of literature.[5]