Palimpsesting: Reading and Writing Lives in H. D.'s 'Murex: War and Postwar London (circa A. D. 1916-1926)'

Abstract

The author discusses a story from the book "Palimpsest," by Hilda Doolittle. Palimpsests are parchments that writing has been erased from and replaced. The author comments that Doolittle uses palimpsests as a metaphor for history. Note 5 includes a passing reference to Doyle: "Since De Quincey's essay, the figure of the palimpsest has been employed by writers as varied as Thomas Caryle, Arthur Conan Doyle, D. H. Lawrence, Umberto Eco, George Orwell and Jeanette Winterson. For a more detailed account of the history of the palimpsest and its diverse employment see my study The Palimpsest: Literature, Criticism and Theory (London: Continuum, 2007)."