Lee (Arkansas Technical Univ.) has completed another book on literary mentoring. Unlike his earlier work on this subject, the present title argues that intertextuality reveals a specific kind of mentoring between author and source text. Such relationships are often fraught and contested, especially when there are multiple sources. (Lee similarly draws on an eclectic mix of theorists to elucidate the presence and significance of other writers' works in Johnson's writing.) Johnson's most significant affiliations are treated in more-or-less separate chapters (though there is some overlap): Dryden, Addison, Milton, and Pope. These authors are obstacles to, as well as enablers of, Johnson's career as critic, essayist, and (arguably) the foremost writer of his time. A final chapter summarizes and extends Lee's theory of intertextual meaning by treating Boswell's own troubled relationship to Johnson's authority and presence. Although the book is primarily a contribution to Johnson studies, Lee's remarks deserve wider consideration. Particularly fruitful is his elaboration of intertextuality as a kind of mentoring that goes beyond the matter of simple influence to reveal a complex affiliation, as agonistic and debilitating as it is benevolent and inspiring. Summing Up: Recommended.

Choice Reviews