Charting the voyage of "The Bravest Boat": an examination of Malcolm’s Lowry’s manuscript

• Main Author: Denholm, Julia Elizabeth
• Format: Others
• Language: English
• Published: 2009
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/5126

This thesis is comprised of three sections: a genetic study of “The Bravest Boat;” an examination of four methods of “Lowryan revision;” and my own critical discussion of how my chronicle of the gestation and development of “The Bravest Boat” affects (effects?) a reading of the story, whether that reading be the first or the fiftieth. Section One employs the methods of “genetic study” as defined by Victor Doyen and Suzanne Kim. I have attempted to locate all extant fragments of “The Bravest Boat” and, by comparing them with each other and with the published version, reconstruct the evolution of “The Bravest Boat” from its inception to its final, published version. Section Two focuses on four typical Lowryan revisions. I incorporate most of the thirty-nine manuscript fragments I have recovered into my discussion of these four techniques; simultaneously, I explore various thematic and compositional issues raised by each sample fragment. The final section of this thesis presents my examination of the effect that my work has had on a reading of the story in its published version. I discuss the development of the text through its two early draft versions and subsequent revisions, ultimately presenting my conclusions as to how “well” the story stands up to a prolonged close reading. === Arts, Faculty of === English, Department of === Graduate