Chapter 17: Enoch Soames: From Max Beerbohm's Imagination to the British Library

This chapter investigates the complex and compelling intertextual network set in motion by Max Beerbohm's Enoch Soames, culminating in an extraordinary literary event at the British Library in 1997, 81 years post-publication. Included in an anthology by Borges and Bioy Casares, Enoch Soames recounts the tale of a fictional poet who, frustrated by obscurity, makes a pact with the devil to travel a century into the future and discover how posterity received his work. At the end of the 20th century, in 1997, a group of readers gathered at the British Library awaiting Soames's appearance – and according to the magician Teller, he did appear. This narrative, where fiction and reality intertwine, is analyzed through the lens of literary reputation. The chapter draws a parallel with the character Korriscosso from Eça de Queirós's short story Um poeta lírico, also a figure of poetic failure. To understand the social construction of literary fame and obscurity, we draw upon the concepts of the Matthew Effect and scientific recognition (Robert K. Merton), cultural capital and literary field (Pierre Bourdieu), and the invisible college (Derek de Solla Price and Diana Crane). Albert Manguel's reflections on libraries in The Library at Night enrich the discussion by emphasizing the role of these institutions in preserving and legitimizing authorship. Ultimately, this chapter offers a critical reflection on how literary reputation is shaped, institutionalized, and even mythologized – sometimes with the complicity of libraries and their readers.