Mario Praz
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Mario Praz (September 6, 1896, Rome, Italy - March 23, 1982, Rome) was an Italian-born critic of art and literature. He was a scholar of English literature. His best-known book, the 'Romantic Agony', was a comprehensive survey of the erotic and morbid themes that characterized European authors of the late 18th and 19th centuries. 'The House of Life', his autobiography, was praised by Edmund Wilson as a masterpiece. His works of art criticism include an Illustrated History of Interior Decoration, a study on the Italian sculptor Antonio Canova and numerous essays.
He taught English literature at the University of Rome, from 1934 to his retirement in 1966. In 1962 Queen Elizabeth II made him a Knight Commander of the British Empire (KBE). Praz died in Rome in 1982.
He was admired by the French biographer and decadent critic, Philippe Jullian.
The Romantic Agony (1930)
The Romantic Agony is a work of literary history by Italian scholar Mario Praz. First published in Italy as La carne, la morte, e il diavolo nella letteratura romantica in 1930, it is his best-known work. It is a comprehensive survey of the erotic and morbid themes that characterized European authors of the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
