Biography, Literature and Literary studies Books

Book SynopsisWhen the downtrodden animals of Manor Farm overthrow their master Mr Jones and take over the farm themselves, they imagine it is the beginning of a life of freedom and equality.Trade ReviewWhere this Oxford University Press edition hugely scores is with the ancillary content [..] these enable you to dig into the detail of the story's foundations, understand what Orwell was getting at and just what he was criticising. * Jonathan Cowie, SF2 Concatenation *Table of ContentsIntroduction Note on the Text Select Bibliography Chronology Animal Farm Explanatory Notes

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Book SynopsisThis new edition of Orwell's 1933 text comes with an authoratative introduction, explanatory notes, and a select bibliography to help first-time readers situate the novel in it's contexts and offer a fresh new re-evaluation of the work to returning readers.

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Book SynopsisToday many people take reading for granted, but we remain some way off from attaining literacy for the global human population. And whilst we think we know what reading is, it remains in many ways a mysterious process, or set of processes. The effects of reading are myriad: it can be informative, distracting, moving, erotically arousing, politically motivating, spiritual, and much, much more. At different times and in different places reading means different things. In this Very Short Introduction Belinda Jack explores the fascinating history of literacy, and the opportunities reading opens. For much of human history reading was the preserve of the elite, and most reading meant being read to. Innovations in printing, paper-making, and transport, combined with the rise of public education from the late eighteenth century on, brought a dramatic rise in literacy in many parts of the world. Established links between a nation''s levels of literacy and its economy led to the promotion of reading for political ends. But, equally, reading has been associated with subversive ideas, leading to censorship through multiple channels: denying access to education, controlling publishing, destroying libraries, and even the burning of authors and their works. Indeed, the works of Voltaire were so often burned that an enterprising Parisian publisher produced a fire-proof edition, decorated with a phoenix. But, as Jack demonstrates, reading is a collaborative act between an author and a reader, and one which can never be wholly controlled. Telling the story of reading, from the ancient world to digital reading and restrictions today, Belinda Jack explores why it is such an important aspect of our society.ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.Trade ReviewAn altogether riveting read. * Paradigm Explorer *Table of ContentsList of illustrations 1. What is reading? 2. Ancient worlds 3. Reading manuscripts, reading print 4. Modern reading 5. Forbidden reading 6. Reading and/as interpretation 7. Pluralities Further reading Index

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Book Synopsis1984 Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949) was George Orwell's final novel and was completed in difficult conditions shortly before his early death. It is one of the most influential and widely-read novels of the post-war period.Table of ContentsIntroduction Note on the Text Select Bibliography Chronology 1984 Nineteen Eighty-Four Explanatory Notes

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Book SynopsisOxford School Shakespeare is an acclaimed edition especially designed for students, with accessible on-page notes and explanatory illustrations, clear background information, and rigorous but accessible scholarly credentials. Love''s Labour''s Lost is a popular text for study by secondary students the world over. This edition includes illustrations, preliminary notes, reading lists and classroom notes.Table of ContentsIntroduction About the Play Leading Characters in the Play Synopsis Love's Labour's Lost: commentary Shakespeare's Verse Source, date and Text People in the Play Love's Labour's Lost Shakespeare's Revisions Classwork and Examinations Discussion of Themes and Topics Character Study Activities Critical Appreciation Essays Projects Background Government Religion Education Language Drama Theatre Further Reading William Shakespeare, 1564-1616 List of Shakespeare's Plays

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Book SynopsisHumour has been discovered in every known human culture and thinkers have discussed it for over two thousand years. Humour can serve many functions; it can be used to relieve stress, to promote goodwill among strangers, to dissipate tension within a fractious group, to display intelligence, and some have even claimed that it improves health and fights sickness. In this Very Short Introduction Noel Carroll examines the leading theories of humour including The Superiority Theory and The Incongruity Theory. He considers the relation of humour to emotion and cognition, and explores the value of humour, specifically in its social functions. He argues that humour, and the comic amusement that follows it, has a crucial role to play in the construction of communities, but he also demonstrates that the social aspect of humour raises questions such as ''When is humour immoral?'' and ''Is laughing at immoral humour itself immoral?''. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.Trade ReviewExcellent introduction. * Steven Poole, the guardian *Table of ContentsIntroduction ; 1. The nature of humour ; 2. Humour, emotion, and cognition ; 3. Humour and value ; References ; Further reading

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Book SynopsisScholars of Edmund Spenser have focused much more on his accomplishments in epic and pastoral than his work in satire. Scholars of early modern English satire almost never discuss Spenser. However, these critical gaps stem from later developments in the canon rather than any insignificance in Spenser's accomplishments and influence on satiric poetry. This book argues that the indirect form of satire developed by Spenser served during and after Spenser's lifetime as an important model for other poets who wished to convey satirical messages with some degree of safety. The book connects key Spenserian texts in The Shepheardes Calender and the Complaints volume with poems by a range of authors in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, including Joseph Hall, Thomas Nashe, Tailboys Dymoke, Thomas Middleton and George Wither, to advance the thesis that Spenser was seen by his contemporaries as highly relevant to satire in Elizabethan England.Trade Review‘Offers an important theoretical framework and textually detailed account of an overlooked genre in the history of satire.’Professor Lowell Gallagher, Studies in English Literature‘Hile’s book is an engaging and carefully researched study, which not only furthers our understanding of verse satires of the late-sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, but also invites scholars to reassess the importance of indirect satire in the trajectory of Spenser’s works and the influence it had on emerging writers. By prompting us to read Spenser’s satirical work alongside his epic, pastoral, and lyrical poetry, Hile expands our sense of him as “the poets’s poet”’Stuart Hart, The Sixteenth Century Journal, Vol 49, Issue 1, Spring 2018 -- .Table of ContentsIntroduction1. Indirect satire: theory and Spenserian practice2. Spenser's satire of indirection: affiliation, allusion, allegory 3. Spenser and the English literary system in the 1590s4. Spenserian "entry codes" to indirect satire5. Thomas Middleton's satires before and after the Bishops' Ban6. After the Bishops' Ban: imitation of Spenserian satireConclusionIndex

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Book SynopsisAugustine's Confessions and Shakespeare's King Lear are two of the most influential and enduring works of the Western canon or world literature. But what does Stratford-upon-Avon have to do with Hippo, or the ascetical heretic-fighting polemicist with the author of some of the world's most beautiful love poetry? To answer these questions, Kim Paffenroth analyses the similarities and differences between the thinking of these two figures on the themes of love, language, nature and reason. Pairing and connecting the insights of Shakespeare's most nihilist tragedy with those of Augustine's most personal and sometimes self-condemnatory, sometimes triumphal work, challenges us to see their worldviews as more similar than they first seem, and as more relevant to our own fragmented and disillusioned world.Trade ReviewWhat can the aged Lear and the young Augustine have to say to each other? Kim Paffenroth coaxes them to speak to us as only a great teacher can, with eloquence and insight. -- James J. O'Donnell, Classics Scholar, University Librarian, Arizona State University, USABeautiful, moving, and deeply personal. Kim Paffenroth 'yokes' together these magnificent texts from Shakespeare and Augustine and delivers us remarkable new insights gleaned from 35 years of loving engagement. -- Mark Roosevelt, President, St. John's College, USAIn search of 'timeless eternal truths,' Paffenroth brings into conversation a fifth century author and a sixteenth century author. Differing in historical context, experience, and perspective, St. Augustine and Shakespeare’s Lear nevertheless share the condition of speaking from pressured and vulnerable seasons of life: Shakespeare’s Lear is old, and Augustine’s Confessions recall and relive his painfully disoriented youth. Paffenroth demonstrates that insights emerge when texts interact, challenging readers to reconsider the protagonists’–and possibly our own–assumptions about language, love, and loyalty. -- Margaret R. Miles, Emerita Professor of the History of Christianity, The Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, California, USATable of ContentsIntroduction Chapter 1 The Problem of Love Chapter 2 The Problem of Language Chapter 3 The Problem of Nature Chapter 4 The Problem of Reason Chapter 5 Augustine's Resolution and Drama's Refusal to Resolve Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisSet in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, this romantic tale unfolds against a background of political unrest and tenant agitation in Ireland. The poet William Butler Yeats is a central figure in the Irish literary revival, while Maud Gonne, a political activist, is passionately involved in the struggle for Irish independence. But this is not a dissertation about Yeats’ work, nor is it about the history of the day or the political involvements of Maud Gonne. It is a love story, containing some of the most poignant poems ever written.

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Book SynopsisMarking the centenary of Ireland’s – and possibly the world’s – most famous novel, this joyful introductory guide opens up Ulysses to a whole new readership, offering insight into the literary, historical and cultural elements at play in James Joyce’s masterwork. Both eloquent and erudite, this book is an initiation into the wonders of Joyce’s writing and of the world that inspired it, written by Daniel Mulhall, Ireland’s ambassador to the United States and an advocate for Irish literature around the world. One hundred years on from that novel’s first publication, Ulysses: A Reader’s Odyssey takes us on a journey through one of the twentieth century’s greatest works of fiction. Exploring the eighteen chapters of the novel and using the famous structuring principle of Homer’s Odyssey as our guide, Daniel Mulhall releases Ulysses from its reputation of impenetrability, and shows us the pleasure it can offer us as readers.Trade ReviewI can take heart from Dan Mulhall, Ireland’s ambassador to the US, whose Ulysses: A Reader’s Odyssey is just published. He takes a practical approach: if some bits of the book prove just too baffling, simply bin them and skip on a few pages. -- Jude Webber * Financial Times *Powerfully, [Mulhall] argues that Joyce and Ireland for him are indissociable and that he retains a burning relevance today. -- Anne Fogarty * The Irish Times *....an excellent guide through daunting terrain. -- Pat Carty * Hot Press *...releases the great masterpiece from its reputation of impentrability. An affectionate, accessible tribute. -- JP O'Malley * Sunday Independent *Ambassador Mulhall cleverly decodes all 18 episodes of the novel, providing personal and funny insights that contextualize and illuminate Joyce’s text, making you want to pick up "Ulysses" again. -- Ted Smyth * Irish Central *An informed, enjoyable guide, it homes in on Ulysses’ emotional core […] A convivial companion to help navigate Joyce’s masterpiece. -- Dermot Bolger * Irish Independent *Never has a visit to the attic proven so educational. -- Dermot Keyes * Waterford News and Star *This book is a delightful, chatty introduction to the wonderful world of James Joyce’s Ulysses -- Felix M. Larkin * The Irish Catholic *James Joyce’s magnus opus remains in need of chaperones. This is certainly one of the better ones available — highly readable, personable and well researched. -- Kevin Power * The Times (UK) *‘In this genial, largely first-person narrative, based on Mulhall’s experience of discussing Ulysses .. during his international postings, he argues that Joyce is a significant asset for the “soft power” of the Irish state.’ -- Emer Nolan * The Times Literary Supplement *Mulhall brings a historian’s eye to Joyce’s text, rather than that of a literary critic, and he writes about Ulysses with exuberance and evident enjoyment. -- David Blake Knox * Dublin Review of Books *

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Book SynopsisA new look at the life and works of William Blake, revealing the full complexity and enduring legacy of this deeply spiritual, politically radical figure.

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Book SynopsisLife's Lessons Well Learned covers Martyn Bould's 60 years in the Cayman Islands as he helped it develop the islands time forgot' with a population of 10,000 into a thriving financial centre with a population of 80,000 from 130 different countries. He was the youngest developer of town houses as well as developing the Great House luxury condominium on Seven Mile Beach, introduced innovations from squash to cable TV. Life is of course a journey and not a destination, and Martyn Bould's autobiography includes many lessons from the ups and downs of life's twists of fate. The author's journeys include visiting 120 countries with his wife Vivian, meeting fascinating people along the way and climbing many figurative and literal mountains, including Kilimanjaro and Aconcagua in his 70s. He describes in detail his journey through life's successes and challenges, closely coupled with his cultural development journey of the talented Cayman society.

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Book SynopsisWhat if we reconsider contemporary rural challenges through relationships rather than oppositions? Based on seasonal work experiences, Seasonal Matters Rural Relations delves into the realm of contemporary agriculture and European labour migration. Through a variety of discursive formats, ranging from essays and interviews to drawings and recipes, this book explores the socio-political implications on rhythms, rituals, and cohabitation in Europe's countryside. The publication encourages a layered conversation between agricultural workers, engaged citizens, artists, and designers.

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Book SynopsisElizabeth Siddal is remembered as a Pre-Raphaelite supermodel and the muse and wife of Gabriel Rossetti. She is cast as a tragic heroine much like the Ophelia she modelled in the renowned Millais painting. But Elizabeth Siddal: Her Story overturns this myth. ‘Lizzie’ is presented as an aspirational and independent woman who knew what she wanted and was not afraid to let it be known. With extraordinary stories, including previously undiscovered details of Siddal’s journeys across the UK and to the south of France, Jan Marsh reclaims Siddal’s narrative from the historical record. She brings new perspective to the post-natal, mental trauma Elizabeth suffered after a stillbirth. Furthermore, she casts new light on the renowned story of Siddal’s grave being exhumed for Rossetti’s poems. Jan Marsh explores the finer, little known details of Siddal’s life, including her four months at art school in Sheffield, which Rossetti’s brother always denied. In addition to this, few will know how Siddal was often regarded as difficult and ungrateful. Historical record tends to forget or misremember women, but with Elizabeth Siddal: Her Story, Jan Marsh forces us to take a closer look and see a very different picture. Siddal was not passive and lacking in agency, she was a woman with a strong mind, flourishing career and an admirable talent.

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewJoseph Valente and Margot Gayle Backus's The Child Sex Scandal and Modern Irish Literature: Writing the Unspeakable digs fearlessly into a centurylong literary canon of abused Irish children, unmasking and unmaking the psychological operations that have allowed such abuse, as Fintan O'Toole writes in the book's preface, to long be Ireland's shameful "unknown known" (xiii). -- Renee Fox * Irish Literary Supplement *The Child Sex Scandal and Modern Irish Literature is a beautifully written and intellectually stimulating book that casts much needed light on the representation of the child sexual scandal in modern Irish literature. For anyone with the slightest interest in the intersection between literature, psychology, cultural theory and sociology and the light they can cast on Irish society, this book is a must read, provided that one understands that it is a highly academic study not intended for a general audience. It shows how in many respects the trauma associated with child abuse in Ireland is still at an early stage, and that healing will only come slowly. -- Eamon Maher * Criminal Law & Criminal Justice Review *Through intricate and rigorous close readings of literature, ranging from James Joyce to Anne Enright, and nuanced applications of psychoanalytic theory, Valente and Backus outline the way that Irish literature engages modern social and cultural discourse, as well as silence and abstraction, to identify sexual trauma in Ireland since the late nineteenth century. Just as they consistently suggest that intracommunity recognition of child sex scandal in Ireland is essential to recovering the social repression of trauma, they also offer academics a reminder of how we might save the Humanities from dissolution and despair: write, think, and witness together. . . . Put simply: we need more books like this in Irish Studies. -- Ellen Scheible * New Hibernia Review *The Child Sex Scandal and Modern Irish Literature should be required reading for students of Irish literature and history. . . . I would also recommend that The Child Sex Scandal and Modern Irish Literature: Writing the Unspeakable, be recommended reading for psychiatrists, therapists and counselors working with victims of child sex abuse and institutional abuse. As is often the case, writers can illuminate the path forward in understanding. -- Adrienne Leavy * Reading Ireland *Table of ContentsForewordIntroduction: The Enigmatic History of Imperiled Innocence1. "An Iridescence Difficult to Account for": Sexual Initiation in Joyce's Fiction of Development2. Between (Open) Secret and Enigma: Kate O'Brien, The Land of Spices, and the Stylistic Invention of Lesbian (In)visibility3. Country Girl: Groomed, Seduced, and Abandoned4. From the Pits and Ditches Where People Have Fallen: Sex Scandal and the Reinvention of the Irish Public Sphere in Keith Ridgway's The Long Falling5. Retrofitting Ireland's Architecture of Containment in Tana French's In the Woods6. "Roaring Inside Me": The Enigma of Sexual Violence in The GatheringEpilogue: What About Brendan?Bibliography of ImagesWorks CitedIndex

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Book SynopsisTahar Ben Jelloun was born in 1944 in Fez, Morocco, and emigrated to France in 1961. He is one of North Africa's foremost novelists. Tahar Ben Jelloun's novels include The Sacred Night which received the Prix Goncourt in 1987 and Corruption.

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Book SynopsisThe story of Jewish literature is a kaleidoscopic one, multilingual and transnational in character, spanning the globe as well as the centuries. In this broad, thought-provoking introduction to Jewish literature from 1492 to the present, cultural historian Ilan Stavans focuses on its multilingual and transnational nature. Stavans presents a wide range of traditions within Jewish literature and the variety of writers who made those traditions possible. Represented are writers as dissimilar as Luis de Carvajal the Younger, Franz Kafka, Bruno Schulz, Isaac Babel, Anzia Yezierska, Elias Canetti, Isaac Bashevis Singer, Irving Howe, Clarice Lispector, Susan Sontag, Philip Roth, Grace Paley, Amos Oz, Moacyr Scliar, and David Grossman. The story of Jewish literature spans the globe as well as the centuries, from the marrano poets and memorialists of medieval Spain, to the sprawling Yiddish writing in Ashkenaz (the Pale of Settlement'' in Eastern Europe), to the probing narratives of Jewish immigrants to the United States and other parts of the New World. It also examines the accounts of horror during the Holocaust, the work of Israeli authors since the creation of the Jewish State in 1948, and the ingathering of Jewish works in Brazil, Bulgaria, Argentina, and South Africa at the end of the twentieth century. This kaleidoscopic introduction to Jewish literature presents its subject matter as constantly changing and adapting.Trade ReviewReading Jewish literature becomes a stimulating journey; Stavans jumps from one author to another without clinging to either time or space. * Tessa Calders i Artís, Escola de libreria *Table of ContentsChapter One: People of the Book Chapter Two: After the Expulsion Chapter Three: The Age of Anxiety Chapter Four: Into the Abyss Chapter Five: Into the Mainstream Chapter Six: The Ingathering Chapter Seven: The Promised Land Chapter Eight: The Letterless Canon References Further Reading Index

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Book SynopsisThis Companion brings together a wealth of information about the perennially fascinating lives and writings of the Brontë sisters. In addition, wide-ranging articles enable the reader to see them in their literary and social context, and to trace their enduring influence on the work of other writers.Trade ReviewThe anniversary edition of The Oxford Companion to the Brontës is a carefully compiled, extended reissue of the comprehensive volume of scholarship first published in 2003. Its timely publication contributes to the exciting increase in scholarship on the Brontë siblings to commemorate the bicentenaries of their births. * Tamara S. Wagner, 1650-1850: Ideas, Aesthetics, and Inquiries of the Early Modern Era *Brontë scholars will be pleased to see Christine Alexander and Margaret Smith's magisterial The Oxford Companion to the Brontës: Anniversary edn., with A-Z entries for almost anything, as well as a chronology, maps and longer entries for broader topics. * Pamela K. Gilbert, Studies in English Literature 1500-1900 *I have spent many happy hours dipping in and out and reading it over the last few months wondering where to start to extoll is virtues and joys This really is a glorious book, it is a treasure trove of information and a must have for all Bronte lovers. * Random Jottings *Wonderfully detailed * Christopher Hirst and Christina Patterson, Independent *This book is a must...A treasure trove of a book * Brian Maye, Irish Times *impressively academic and comprehensive * Times Literary Supplement *It's as authoritative as you'd expect, with more than 2,000 entries ... Even if you are not an academic seeking facts, you could browse absorbingly for hours. * Harry Mead, The Northern Echo *Table of ContentsForewordPrefaceEditors and ContributorsClassified Contents ListAbbreviationsChronologyMapsNote to the ReaderTHE OXFORD COMPANION TO THE BRONTËS: A-ZDialect and Obsolete WordsBibliography

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Book SynopsisThe most formally experimental of all of George Orwell's novels, A Clergyman's Daughter charts the course of a young woman's voyage out of a small town in East Anglia and her eventual homecoming. This new edition of the novel is the first in over 30 years.Trade ReviewNathan Waddell ... has made a tremendous contribution to our understanding of one of Orwell's most neglected novels ... Waddell's editing, in fact, amounts to an outstanding scholarly achievement. * Richard Lance Keeble, George Orwell Studies *

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Book SynopsisWine and dine with Victorian London's literati in a heatwave in one of the first ever group biographies, introduced by Francesca Wade (author of Square Haunting).Though she loved the heat she could do nothing but lie on the sofa and drink lemonade and read Monte Cristo ''One of the most illuminating and insufficiently praised books of the last 60 years.'' ObserverNever bettered.' Guardian''Brilliant.'' Julian BarnesWholly original.' Craig BrownA pathfinder.' Richard HolmesExtraordinary.' Penelope LivelyJune 1846. As London swelters in a heatwave sunstroke strikes, meat rots, ice is coveted a glamorous coterie of writers and artists spend their summer wining, dining and opining.With the ringletted face of an Egyptian cat goddess', Elizabeth Barrett is courted by her secret fiancé, the poet Robert Browning, who plots their elopement to Italy; Keats roams Hampstead Heath; Wordsworth visits the zoo; Dickens is intrigued by Tom Thumb; the Carlyles host parties for a visiting German novelist and suffer a marital crisis. But when the visionary painter Benjamin Robert Haydon commits suicide, they find their entwined lives spiralling around the tragedy . . .One of the first-ever group biographies, Alethea Hayter's glorious A Sultry Month is a lively mosaic of archival riches inspired by the collages of the Pop Artists. A groundbreaking feat of creative non-fiction in 1965, her portrait of Victorian London's literati is just as vivid, witty and enticing today.Elegant Hayter more or less invented the biographical form which is a close study of a brief period in the life of an individual or a group . . . A rigorous scholar [with] an artist's eye.' A. S. ByattHayter's clever, innovative book turned a searchlight on a time, a place, a circle of people; it has surely inspired the subsequent fashion for group biographies.' Penelope LivelyNothing I've ever read has flung me so immediately into those streets, that weather, that period. Hayter never forgets that people want stories, that lives are stories.' Margaret ForsterHayter could take a tiny chip of life [and] find within it the seeds of a whole existence.' Richard HolmesA pioneer . . . Beautifully written vignettes . . . Immaculate scholarship and intense readability.' Jonathan BateOutstanding . . . A small masterpiece.' Anthony Burgess''A brilliant recreation of London literary life in 1846, which is highly original in its form and narrative cross-cutting.'' Julian BarnesTrade Review'Hayter's clever, innovative book turned a searchlight on a time, a place, a circle of people; it has surely inspired the subsequent fashion for group biographies.' Penelope Lively'Nothing I've ever read has flung me so immediately into those streets, that weather, that period. Hayter never forgets that people want stories, that lives are stories.' Margaret Forster'Hayter could take a tiny chip of life [and] find within it the seeds of a whole existence.' Richard Holmes'A pioneer . . . Beautifully written vignettes . . . Immaculate scholarship and intense readability.' Jonathan Bate'Outstanding . . . A small masterpiece.' Anthony Burgess

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Book SynopsisWhat is narrative? How does it work and how does it shape our lives? H. Porter Abbott emphasizes that narrative is found not just in literature, film, and theatre, but everywhere in the ordinary course of people''s lives. This widely used introduction, now revised and expanded in its third edition, is informed throughout by recent developments in the field and includes one new chapter. The glossary and bibliography have been expanded, and new sections explore unnatural narrative, retrograde narrative, reader-resistant narratives, intermedial narrative, narrativity, and multiple interpretation. With its lucid exposition of concepts, and suggestions for further reading, this book is not only an excellent introduction for courses focused on narrative but also an invaluable resource for students and scholars across a wide range of fields, including literature and drama, film and media, society and politics, journalism, autobiography, history, and still others throughout the arts, humanities, and social sciences.Trade ReviewPraise for the second edition: 'This second edition of H. Porter Abbott's very widely used (and highly regarded) Introduction is even stronger than the first edition. The new edition includes two additional chapters, one on 'Narrative and Truth' and the other on 'Narrative Worlds,' which incorporate recent research by a range of scholars exploring the relevant issues, and, furthermore, the author has painstakingly reworked the entire volume to ensure accuracy, comprehensiveness, and clarity in its treatment of major trends in the study of narrative … What was true of the first edition is even more true of the second: this Introduction is not only an appropriate text for classes focusing on narrative - including advanced undergraduate and graduate classes in such (sub)disciplines as literary theory, film theory, communication studies, discourse analysis, women's and gender studies, history, comparative media studies, and critical legal theory - but also an invaluable resource for specialists.' David Herman, editor of The Cambridge Companion to NarrativePraise for the first edition: 'Abbott brilliantly zeroes in on the architecture of narrative with an exactness and bent for orderly exposition that utterly redeems his subject.' The Chronicle of Higher EducationPraise for the first edition: 'Anyone seeking a lucidly written guide to the study of narrative technique should turn immediately to H. Porter Abbott's Cambridge Introduction to Narrative.' Literature/Film QuarterlyPraise for the first edition: 'Directness, accessibility, and coherence distinguish this brief but comprehensive study of narrative … Most highly recommended.' ChoicePraise for the first edition: 'A lucid, practical, wide-ranging, and often original introduction to narrative, which will be extremely useful in undergraduate and graduate courses on literary theory and criticism. This is not a dry textbook, however; the reader is made aware of a real voice and of a fascination with the role of narrative across many areas of culture and beyond.' Derek Attridge, University of YorkTable of Contents1. Narrative and life; 2. Defining narrative; 3. The borders of narrative; 4. The rhetoric of narrative; 5. Closure; 6. Narration; 7. Interpreting narrative; 8. Three ways to interpret narrative; 9. Adaptation across media; 10. Character and Self in narrative; 11. Narrative and truth; 12. Narrative worlds; 13. Narrative contestation; 14. Narrative negotiation: conflict revisited; 15. Narrative negotiation: closure revisited.

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Book Synopsis"A vital guide ... It is difficult to imagine anyone seriously interested in Dante who will not want to own this book" AN Wilson, The Times Since Dante Alighieri wrote the Divine Comedy it has defined how people imagine and depict not only heaven and hell, but romantic love and the human condition. However, while Dante's works are widely celebrated outside Italy, the circumstances of his extraordinary life are less well known. Born in 1265, Dante's adolescence was characterised by literary genius, but his political activism in one of the medieval world's wealthiest cities led to his death in exile. Pre-eminent Dante scholar Alessandro Barbero and celebrated translator Allan Cameron bring the poet vividly to life. Animating the political intrigue, violence, civil war, exile and cities that shaped Dante's poetic and political life, this is a remarkable portrait of one of the creators of European literature and a towering medieval figure in time for the 700th anniversary of his death.Trade ReviewBarbero ... richly contextualizes the life of a middle-class man of letters in medieval Italy -- Heather Webb * TLS *A vital guide ... It is difficult to imagine anyone seriously interested in Dante who will not want to own this book -- AN Wilson * The Times *Impeccably written and researched ... In all cases, [Barbero's] reasoning is cogent, his research impressive and his answers set in earnest dialogue with the historical record -- Joseph Luzzi * NY Times *

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Book SynopsisA collection of poems commissioned to celebrate the creation of the South Downs National Park.

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Book SynopsisAutobiography of the talented and charismatic conductor and musician Alun Guy who has made an enormous contribution to the music scene in Wales. Amidst the people he has met during his career are Robert de Niro, Kiri Te Kanawa and Marisa Robles.

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Book SynopsisAfter The Dance delves into the intriguing life of South African artist Le Roux Smith Le Roux (19141963), a brilliant yet obsessive outsider who was appointed Deputy Keeper of the Tate Gallery in 1950 at the age of thirty-six. Renowned for his sharp intelligence and methodical approach, Le Roux boldly questions the price paid by Director Sir John Rothenstein for the Degas sculpture, Li le Dancer, Aged Fourteen. While Le Roux excels in his professional life, his personal relationships are chaotic. The biography unveils the complexities of a talented man whose life was tumultuous as it was remarkable. The narrative describes the Great Tate Affair (19521954), offering a fresh perspective that challenges the accepted narrative shaped by Rothenstein's flawed account. Through meticulous research and compelling storytelling, this book invites readers to reconsider one of art history's most controversial episodes.

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Book SynopsisSince his first appearance in Beeton’s Christmas Annual in 1887, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes has been one of the most beloved fictional characters ever created. Now, in two paperback volumes, Bantam presents all fifty-six short stories and four novels featuring Conan Doyle’s classic hero--a truly complete collection of Sherlock Holmes’s adventures in crime! Volume I includes the early novel A Study in Scarlet, which introduced the eccentric genius of Sherlock Holmes to the world. This baffling murder mystery, with the cryptic word Rache written in blood, first brought Holmes together with Dr. John Watson. Next, The Sign of Four presents Holmes’s famous “seven percent solution” and the strange puzzle of Mary Morstan in the quintessential locked-room mystery. Also included are Holmes’s feats of extraordinary detection in such famous cases as the chilling “ The Adventure

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Book SynopsisExtraordinary Bodies is a cornerstone text of disability studies, establishing the field upon its publication in 1997. Framing disability as a minority discourse rather than a medical one, the book added depth to oppressive narratives and revealed novel, liberatory ones.Trade ReviewExtraordinary Bodies addresses a subject of great significance and topicality with originality and sophistication; it is, or should become, a seminal work in the emerging field of disability studies. -- G. Thomas Couser MELUS [Thomson] digs deep and offers profound insights into the interrelationships among the theories, practices, and dominant ideologies of a particular historical period as they have had an impact on the position of disabled people. -- Simi Linton SIGNS: JOURNAL OF WOMEN IN CULTURE & SOCIETY Fascinating and theoretically rich... Extraordinary Bodies will... be viewed as one of [disability studies'] foundational texts. -- Anthony Hutchison Journal of American Studies With this important work, Thomson not only redefines disability studies, but also makes a contribution to feminist, poststructuralist, and race theory and provides fresh rereadings of both canonical and non-canonical literary texts. -- Joyce Huff COLLEGE LITERATURE [A]n adventurous, sensible, passionate book that invites readers to rethink the ground-breaking work of theorists who have shaped academic discourse on marginality and the female body. -- Catherine J. Kudlick Journal of Social HistoryTable of ContentsPreface to the Twentieth Anniversary Edition Preface and Acknowledgments I. Politicizing Bodily Differences 1. Disability, Identity, and Representation: An Introduction 2. Theorizing Disability II. Constructing Disabled Figures: Cultural and Literary Sites 3. The Cultural Work of American Freak Shows, 1835-1940 4. Benevolent Maternalism and the Disabled Women in Stowe, Davis, and Phelps 5. Disabled Women as Powerful Women in Petry, Morrison, and Lorde Conclusion: From Pathology to Identity Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisIllustrated with many color images, The Annotated Wuthering Heights provides those encountering the novel for the first time, as well as those returning to it, with a wide array of contexts in which to read Emily Brontë’s romantic masterpiece, which has been called “the most beautiful, most profoundly violent love story of all time.”Trade ReviewEmily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights makes a splendid addition to the [Harvard University Press annotated] collection. Like all the other volumes in the Harvard series, it excels in visual elements that are not only stunningly produced and presented but useful as well… The editor of this annotated volume, Janet Gezari, presents a model introduction to Emily Brontë’s work. Gezari is wonderfully hospitable in finding ways to welcome readers, new and old, into what can be an extremely formidable text by providing clear mapping of both the novel and the scholarship that surrounds it… If there were no other reason to buy this edition, Gezari’s textual work would still make this a necessary purchase… Janet Gezari’s edition of Wuthering Heights finds myriad ways to help us see anew Emily Brontë’s masterpiece; this is a Wuthering Heights the reader will want to return to for many trips. -- Jennifer L. Holberg * Books & Culture *[A] beautiful volume… Devotees of the work will beam with happiness at all the care and excess Gezari and her collaborators have lavished on Emily Brontë’s weird, howling book. There are beautiful color photos on almost every page, everything from the faithful Brontë dog to Sir Walter Scott and Lord Byron, and there are meaty discussions about every single aspect of the world of Wuthering Heights… Every fan of the book, new or old, will want to own it. -- Steve Donoghue * Open Letters Monthly *The Annotated Wuthering Heights provides those encountering the novel for the first time—as well as those returning to it—with a wide array of contexts in which to read Brontë’s romantic masterpiece. Gezari explores the philosophical, historical, economic, political, and religious contexts of the novel and its connections with Brontë’s other writing, particularly her poems. The annotations unpack Brontë’s allusions to the Bible, Shakespeare, and her other reading; elucidate her references to topics including folklore, educational theory, and slavery; translate the thick Yorkshire dialect of Joseph, the surly, bigoted manservant at the Heights; and help with other difficult or unfamiliar words and phrases. Handsomely illustrated with many color images that vividly recreate both Brontë’s world and the earlier Yorkshire setting of her novel, this newly edited and annotated text will delight and instruct the scholar and general reader alike. * San Francisco Book Review *This is a superb edition. The annotations bring the text to life in a new way, and, with its many illustrations, it is a pleasure to look at and to have in one’s library. -- Beth Newman, Southern Methodist University

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Book SynopsisIn her introduction to Northanger Abbey—part of Harvard’s celebrated annotated Austen series—Susan Wolfson proposes that Austen’s most underappreciated, most playful novel is about fiction itself and how it can take possession of everyday understandings. Wolfson’s running commentary will engage new readers and delight scholars.Trade ReviewThe Belknap Press of the Harvard University Press continues its stellar collection of gorgeous, oversized editions with a new annotated version of Jane Austen’s 1817 novel Northanger Abbey. Princeton University English professor Susan Wolfson does the annotating honors this time, filling page after page with her lively and freakishly comprehensive marginalia… Her Introduction is fast-paced and insightful… The quality of the annotations themselves is universally excellent… No matter how many times you’ve read Northanger Abbey, Wolfson will teach you something, and many of the connections she draws are fascinating. -- Steve Donoghue * Open Letters Monthly *Offers up just the type of sumptuous reading experience that we’ve come to expect from this series…The Northanger Abbey text is richly illustrated with paintings, museum-quality photographs, and colorful Regency prints. A pleasure to turn, these luxurious pages will satisfy even the most book-hungry Janeite—and at a reasonable price. This is just the type of chocolate-box of a book that you will want to savor while curled up on the sofa…Wolfson’s smart and gorgeous new edition of Northanger Abbey is a must-have for anyone who looks forward to reading or rereading this novel in time for its bicentenary. You are in for a treat. -- Janine Barchas * JASNA News *Susan Wolfson is the ideal scholar-critic to guide us through Jane Austen’s mock-gothic Northanger Abbey. With a masterly introduction, this annotated edition is a treasure-trove of historical background, intertextual illumination, and literary insight. -- Joyce Carol OatesThrough her introduction and notes, Susan Wolfson provides abundant information about Jane Austen’s life, circumstances, and cultural setting, as well as a penetrating interpretation of Northanger Abbey. This annotated edition adds to the enjoyment that the novel has given readers over almost three centuries. Austen’s spoof of the Gothic supplies not only entertainment, but also, as Wolfson demonstrates, insight into the author’s attitudes toward reading, gender relations, the novelist’s art, and much besides. -- Patricia Meyer Spacks, University of VirginiaNorthanger Abbey, least known of Jane Austen’s novels, offers some of her wittiest lines and most personal opinions. Susan Wolfson’s cogent and spirited introduction and her notes, acute and thorough, make this an edition every Austen enthusiast will learn from and enjoy. -- Claire Tomalin, author of Jane Austen: A Life

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Book SynopsisThus, these writers are engaged in active social critique, providing readers with a broader perspective of historical consciousness.

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Book SynopsisAn elegant introduction to one of America''s most complex and influential writers.From his childhood in a family of leading American intellectuals through his mature life as a major American man of letters, Henry James (1843-1916) created a unique body of fiction that represents one of the greatest achievements in the nation''s literary history. James''s transnational life in the US and England and his extraordinary siblings (the philosopher William James and diarist Alice James) made his life as complicated as the fictions he produced. In this elegant introduction to the work of Henry James, Susan L. Mizruchi places the notoriously difficult and obscure writings in their historical and biographical context. As James grew in confidence as a writer, his fictions evolved accordingly. These complex accounts of human experience engage with the vital issues of both James''s era and our own. Among the works treated in this introduction are Washington Square, The Europeans, Daisy Miller, The Portrait of a Lady, The Golden Bowl, and The Turn of the Screw. Through his novels, as well as his journalistic and critical endeavors, James explores themes related to gender relations, human sexuality, the nature of modernity, the threat of relativism, the rise of mass culture, and the role of art.Since their creation, James''s writings have been a consistent subject of both literary theory and popular culture, receiving a diverse array of theoretical treatments, from formalism, deconstruction, phenomenology, and pragmatism to Marxism, new historicism, and gender and queer theory. James''s novels have been adapted into numerous films by directors including William Wyler, Peter Bogdanovich, Michael Winner, Merchant/Ivory, and Jane Campion. The impact of Henry James cannot be overstated.Trade ReviewThis is a swift, efficient approach to James's oeuvre, perfect for students and general readers. * Publisher's Weekly *Table of ContentsList of illustrations Prologue 1 Becoming Henry James 2 Global apprenticeship 3 The James brand 4 Professional author 5 Masterpieces Epilogue References Further reading Index

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Book SynopsisA new edition of the bestselling Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature, this wide-ranging, compact guide has been fully revised and updated. In over 5,500 A-Z entries, it covers all aspects of English literature and constitutes an indispensable reference for English students, teachers, and anyone else who loves literature.Trade ReviewReview from previous edition This is a scrupulously produced, smartly laid-out, academically serious and at the same time relishably browsable book. * Henry Hitchings, The Times Literary Supplement *a work of extraordinary value ... No library, no matter how small, can claim not to be able to afford at least one copy of this invaluable and almost incomparable, reference book. Another authoritative reference work of remarkable value will be welcome news to those libraries which found themselves unable to purchase the full edition. * Library Review *No guide could come more classic than The Oxford Companion to English Literature ... the literary reference source of first resort ... indispensable ... . Contemporary international writing is excellently covered ... excellent chronology * Malcolm Bradbury, The Times *Always good company * Ian Sansom, Guardian *Everybody with an interest in English literature will want to own it * David Sexton, Evening Standard *Remains irresistible * Sue Gaisford, Harpers & Queen *Continues to stand out as distinctive, authoritative, and a work of excellence * Reference Reviews *Increasing user-friendliness and a nice "up to date" feel * Reference Reviews *Sumptuous volume. * Ferdinand Mount, Standpoint *Detailed, clear and lively accounts. * Michael Kerrigan, The Scotsman *A classic now made contemporary, this really is a boon companion. * Michael Kerrigan, The Scotsman *Birch and the contributors have done an excellent job. * Sameer Rahim, Daily Telegraph *Excellence is in the details. * Times Literary Supplement, Henry Hitchings *It offers companionable assistance; it's your pal in literary need. * John Sutherland, Sunday Times *It is a fascinating, compact and readable reference work. * Day by Day *accessible, readable * Mail on Sunday *If you are at all interested in literature, then this is your essential reference book * Writers News *Table of ContentsPREFACE; ABBREVIATIONS; NOTE TO THE READER; CONCISE COMPANION; APPENDICES

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Book SynopsisRICHARD AND JUDY BESTSELLING AUTHOR''Gripping, emotional, utterly engrossing'' Lisa Ballantyne''Stunning writing and wonderful nuanced characterisation. I was hooked'' Rosamund LuptonFor fans of Maggie O''Farrell and Celeste Ng, How It Ends is a sweeping and turbulent drama about the anxieties of post-war Britain, where one strong and inspirational young woman looks to find her place, no matter the cost... 1957: Within a year of arriving at an American airbase in Suffolk, the loving, law-abiding Delaney family is destroyed. Did they know something they weren''t allowed to know? Did they find something they weren''t supposed to find? Only one girl has the courage to question what really went on behind closed doors . . . Hedy''s journey to the truth leads her to read a manuscript that her talented twin brother hadTrade ReviewA gripping and emotional story which, although set in a past era, has chilling implications for the present day. How It Ends is an engrossing read with endearing characters thrust into traumatic circumstances. It stayed with me long after the last page as its subject matter is unfortunately still very relevant -- Lisa Ballantyne

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Book SynopsisThe enduring appeal of the Christmas story relies on heartfelt tradition and often moral quandaries both magical and mundane, all wrapped in the lore and practice of this cherished holiday. This anthology collects ten classic tales from some of literature's greatest writers. Stories included in this collection are The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry, The Elves and the Shoemaker by the Bros. Grimm, A Christmas Tree by Charles Dickens, The Burglar's Christmas by Willa Cather, A Letter From Santa by Mark Twain, A Country Christmas by Louisa May Alcott, Where Love Is, There God Is Also by Leo Tolstoy, The Christmas Banquet by Nathaniel Hawthorne, A Kidnapped Santa Claus by L. Frank Baum, and Christmas; or the Good Fairy by Harriet Beecher Stowe.

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Book SynopsisIn W.E.B. Du Bois' novel, Dark Princess, Matthew Townes, an aspiring OB/GYN, moves to Berlin when he cannot finish his medical studies in New York City because of the racist rules of the program. Feeling homesick, he meets a purple-haired Indian princess named Kautilya and falls in love. They embark on an embattled and at times fantastical interracial romance through which Du Bois explores ideas of race and politics. As the two lovers work toward liberation from a whites-only world, they are torn apart and later reunited. The novel was published to mixed reviews in 1928, but is said to be the author's favorite of all his works.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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Book SynopsisThis second edition of King Richard III features a new introductory section by Janis Lull, which focuses on contemporary stage and film productions as well as recent scholarly criticism. Lull stresses the importance of women in the play but shows how female roles are often side-lined on stage and screen.Table of ContentsIntroduction: History and meaning in Richard III; Richard III and Macbeth; Plot and language in Richard III; Richard III in performance; The audience in Richard III; Recent stage, film, and critical interpretations; Note on the text; List of characters; THE PLAY; Textual analysis; Appendix 1. The Q-only 'clock' passage; Appendix 2. The Plantagenet family tree; Reading list.

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