1913: The Cradle of Modernism

"While reading Rabatk's book I constantly had in mind Theodor Adorno's remark to Walter Benjamin about the latter's habit of 'occult adjacentism'.  Adorno, of course, meant this as a damning criticism of his friend's method in the Arcades project, but it beautifully describes the effect of 1913 and its kaleidoscopic presentation of a world that troublingly-uncannily-intimates our own." (MLR, April 2009)

“Rabate offers scholars and students a new portrait of cosmopolitan modernism to contemplate, making a study of globalization central to his understanding of the period’s literary and artistic endeavors.” (The Review of English Studies, June 2009)

“This book’s clarity and specificity will reward even readers familiar with his topics. Summing Up: Highly recommended.”(Choice)

"With this book Jean-Michel Rabaté, one of the foremost scholars of literary modernism, serves up a sumptuous intellectual feast. Examining the currents of thought and creative activity that churn through a single year, the 1913 of his title, he achieves an epic overview of early modernism. Music, painting, technology, science, philosophy, mathematics, literature, sexuality--nothing escapes his probing gaze. Telling anecdotes, insightful criticism, and philosophical rigour are combined to produce a work that is both a pleasure to read and a major scholarly synthesis."
–Lawrence Rainey, University of York