''Ryder'' (1928) is the first novel by

Djuna Barnes Djuna Barnes (, June 12, 1892 – June 18, 1982) was an American artist, illustrator, journalist, and writer who is perhaps best known for her novel ''Nightwood'' (1936), a cult classic of lesbian fiction and an important work of modernist litera ...

. A composite of different literary styles, from lyrical poetry to sentimental fiction, it is an example of a modernist novel in the Rabelaisian tradition of bawdy and parodic fiction. Nearly every chapter is written in a different style. The novel is thought to draw on elements of Barnes's own life.

Synopsis

''Ryder'' is an experimental novel and does not follow a linear narrative. The opening chapter, written in the style of the

King James Bible The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version, is an Bible translations into English, English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, which was commissioned in 1604 and publis ...

, introduces the reader to Jesus Mundane, who is revealed later, to be Wendell Ryder. This is followed by a description of the birth of Sophia Grieve Ryder, her marriages and infamy in nineteenth century American, and then the birth of her son, Wendell. Wendell and Sophia visit England, where Wendell meets Amelia, who returns with Wendell to America and marries him. Wendell invites another woman into the family house, a cabin on a farm. This woman, Kate, becomes Wendell's love and his second (common) wife. Both Amelia and Kate bear Wendell children, and often fight and argue with one another. In one chapter Julie, eldest daughter of Amelia, is implied to have been raped. Doctor Matthew O'Connor (who also appears in

Nightwood ''Nightwood'' is a 1936 novel by American author Djuna Barnes that was first published by publishing house Faber and Faber. It is one of the early prominent novels to portray explicit homosexuality between women, and as such can be considered l ...

) is the family doctor. The novel features many digressions, often written in very stylised prose.

Major Themes

One of the novel's central themes is that of sexuality and polygamy. Deborah Parsons describes how the character of Wendell is presented as having an 'idealistic vision of himself as a natural beast with a spiritual purpose to deliver women from the asexual state of virginity'.

Illustrations

The novel is accompanied by Barnes' own illustrations, which feature images of characters and themes from the novel. In ''Ryder'' Barnes abandons the Beardsleyesque style of her drawings for ''The Book of Repulsive Women'' in favor of a visual vocabulary borrowed from French

folk art Folk art covers all forms of visual art made in the context of folk culture. Definitions vary, but generally the objects have practical utility of some kind, rather than being exclusively decorative art, decorative. The makers of folk art a ...

. Several illustrations are closely based on the

engraving Engraving is the practice of incising a design onto a hard, usually flat surface by cutting grooves into it with a Burin (engraving), burin. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or Glass engraving, glass ...

s and

woodcut Woodcut is a relief printing technique in printmaking. An artist carves an image into the surface of a block of wood—typically with gouges—leaving the printing parts level with the surface while removing the non-printing parts. Areas that ...

s collected by Pierre Louis Duchartre and René Saulnier in the 1926 book ''L'Imagerie Populaire''—images that had been copied with variations since

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

times. The bawdiness of ''Ryders illustrations led the

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to refuse to ship it, and several had to be left out of the first edition, including an image in which a giant Sophia is seen urinating into a

chamberpot A chamber pot is a portable toilet, meant for nocturnal use in the bedroom. It was common in many cultures before the advent of indoor plumbing and flushing toilets. Names and etymology "Chamber" is an older term for bedroom. The chamber pot ...

and one in which Amelia and Kate-Careless sit by the fire knitting

codpiece A codpiece () is a triangular piece that attached to the front of men's hose, covering the fly. It may be held in place by ties or buttons. It was an important fashion item of European clothing during the 15th–16th centuries. In the modern era ...

s. Parts of the text were also expurgated. In an acerbic introduction, Barnes explained that the missing words and passages had been replaced with asterisks so that readers could see the "havoc" wreaked by censorship. A 1990 Dalkey Archive edition restored the missing drawings, but the original text was lost with the destruction of the manuscript in World War II.

Censorship

On publication in 1928, the novel was heavily censored. Barnes writes in her foreword to the novel that since censorship 'has a vogue in America' certain sections of the novel have been 'expurgated' and asterisks have been put in place so as to make it 'matter for no speculation where sense, continuity, and beauty have been damaged'. In 1979, Barnes declined the opportunity to restore the censored passages for the reissue of the novel by publisher

St. Martin's Press St. Martin's Press is a book publisher headquartered in Manhattan, New York City, in the Equitable Building. St. Martin's Press is considered one of the largest English-language publishers, bringing to the public some 700 titles a year under si ...

Manuscript and Publication History

The original manuscript was destroyed during the Second World War and Barnes declined to restore the censored passages for the 1979 reprint. Hence only the censored version exists.Anon. (1990) 'A Note on The Text and Illustrations' ''Ryder''. Champaign and London: Dalkey Archive Press. The novel has been reprinted twice since the Second World War. In 1979 by

St Martin's Press St. Martin's Press is a book publisher headquartered in Manhattan, New York City, in the Equitable Building. St. Martin's Press is considered one of the largest English-language publishers, bringing to the public some 700 titles a year under si ...

and then in 1990 by the

Dalkey Archive Press Dalkey Archive Press is an American publisher of fiction, poetry, foreign translations and literary criticism specializing in the publication or republication of lesser-known, often avant-garde works. The company has offices in Funks Grove, Il ...

, which featured an afterword by Paul West.

Publication History

*1928, USA,

Boni & Liveright Boni & Liveright (pronounced "BONE-eye" and "LIV-right") is an American trade book publisher established in 1917 in New York City by Albert Boni and Horace Liveright. Over the next sixteen years the firm, which changed its name to Horace Live ...

*1979, USA,

*1990, UK & USA,

, Paperback

Notes

References

*Broe, Mary Lynn (1991). ''Silence and Power: A Reevaluation of Djuna Barnes''. Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University Press. . *Burke, Carolyn (1991). "'Accidental Aloofness': Barnes, Loy, and Modernism". In Broe, ''Silence and Power'', 67–79. *Herring, Phillip (1995). ''Djuna: The Life and Work of Djuna Barnes''. New York: Penguin Books. {{ISBN, 0-14-017842-2. *Martyniuk, Irene (1998). "Troubling the "Master's Voice": Djuna Barnes's Pictorial Strategies". ''Mosaic'' (Winnipeg) 31 (3): 61–80. *Parsons, Deborah (2003). ''Djuna Barnes''. Plymouth: Northcote House Publishers. 1928 American novels 1928 debut novels Boni & Liveright books