Autobiography - Self into Form

• Contents: Method: An Approach to Autobiography - Context: The Autobiographical Impulse - Chronological Table of Works - Autobiographies of Crisis, Women's Coming-to-Consciousness and Childhood - Analyses of Bachmann, Plessen, Wolf, Handke - Bibliography.

Frieden's book constitutes a valuable contribution to a new poetics of the autobiographical genre. Her research is built on an impressive literature review with 130 references to autobiographical criticism of the past century. Her list of Trends in Autobiographical Criticism and the extensive bibliography of both primary and secondary source material make it an excellent research tool. (Renate Delphendahl, The German Quarterly) This overview provides a very fine introduction to the recent critical re-examination of autobiography. ... The book's second part, which presents a selective typology of autobiographical works in the 1970's, are valuable to anyone who is working in this area or seeks an introduction to it. (Donald P. Haase, Monatshefte)