ELT & Literary Studies Books

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.

Read more less

Book SynopsisWho is Holmes? The world's most famous detective? A drug addict with a heart as cold as ice? A millstone around the neck of his creator? He's all of these things and much, much more. Sherlock Holmes was the brainchild of Portsmouth GP Arthur Conan Doyle. A writer of historical romantic fiction, Doyle became unhappy that the detective's enormous success eclipsed his more serious offerings. But after attempting to wipe him out at the Reichenbach Falls in Switzerland, Doyle was faced with a vociferous backlash from the general public and eventually he had no choice but to bring his sleuth back from the grave to face more puzzling mysteries. While not strictly speaking 'canonical', Holmes' deerstalker, curved pipe and cries of 'Elementary, my dear Watson!' have been immortalised in countless stage, film, television and radio productions. An iconic fictional creation, inseparable from his partner-in-crime Dr John Watson, Sherlock Holmes has charmed and fascinated millions of people around the world since his first appearance over a century ago. He is one of English literature's finest creations.Trade ReviewMark Campbell on Conan Doyle's Dartmoor * Independent on Saturday *Mark Campbell on Sherlock Holmes' London Haunts * Independent on Saturday *

Read more less

Book SynopsisTrade Review“A highly engaging tale of impossible love . . . The first verse translation of the 12th-century Persian poet Nezami . . . Davis’s rhythmic translation is full of lush imagery.” ―Publishers Weekly“Nezami . . . paints a visionary world full of erotic tension and trepidation which is both sublimated and enriched with psychological chiaroscuro.” ―Italo Calvino

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisDevils, witches and evil - the insubstantial but terrifying world of the supernatural as it was seen by Robert Burns and his contemporaries is examined in this new book, brought out for the 250th anniversary of the poet's birth. Several of Burns' poems dealt with the supernatural, the most famous of which, "Tam o Shanter", is examined in detail. It is from this poem that the book's title comes: 'And roars out, "Weel done, Cutty-sark!" And in an instant all was dark And scarcely had he Maggie rallied When out the hellish legion sallied.' In contrast with the 'other world' was the everyday lives of the country people and the nature of the material world in which they lived; the book also examines this and the changes that were taking place in Burns' time.Trade Review'The "hellish legion" referred to in the title of this informative and friendly book, is that body of witches, ghosts, satanic sprites and anything else devilish that might have informed the lives of Robert Burns and his fellow Ayrshire men and women, and further, his own epic poem, Tam o' Shanter. ... It's possible, then, to read Tam o' Shanter also as a nostalgic piece, a recording of a way of looking at the world that was passing by.' The Herald '... does an excellent job in introducing the man and the places in which he lived.' The Folklore SocietyTable of ContentsIntroduction: The Life of Robert Burns The People of Lowland Scotland The Deil, Death and Ghosts Witches, Spirits and otehr Curious Things Eveil Men, Bad Weather and the Awful Future Medicines The Year Tam o' Shanter Select Bibliography Further Reading and Exploring Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis is the first book to present the life, times and poetry of one of the greatest poets in the Arab tradition, Abu Nuwas. Author Philip Kennedy provides the narrative of Abu Nuwas's fascinating life, which was full of intrigue and debauched adventure, in parallel with the presentation of his greatest poems, across all genres, in easy and accessible translations, giving commentary where needed.Trade ReviewGeert Jan van Gelder - Laudian Professor of Arabic, Oxford University"Philip has written a very good book on the great (in my view) greatest Arabic poet, Abu Nuwas... The literary analysis is generally excellent, balanced and erudite."Table of ContentsPreface Acknowledgments 1 “Dangling Locks and Babel Eyes” – A Biographical Sketch of Abu Nuwas (c. 757–814) 2 “Love, Wine, Sodomy ... and the Lash” – The Lyric Poetry of Abu Nuwas 3 “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” – On Panegyric and Satire 4 Some Hunting Poems and a Game of Polo 5 “Poetry for Mortals and the Dead” – On the Ascetic Poem and the Elegy An Afterword – “Walk the Even Path with Me ...” Bibliography Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn Migdalia Cruz'sMacbeth, the Witches run the world.TheMacbeths live out a dark cautionary tale of love,greed,and power,falling from glory into calamityas the Witches spin their fate.Translating Shakespeare's languagefora modernaudience, Nuyorican playwright Migdalia CruzrewritesMacbethwith all the passion of the Bronx.This translation ofMacbethwaspresented in 2018as part ofthe Play On!Shakespeareproject,an ambitious undertakingfromthe Oregon Shakespeare Festivalthat commissioned new translations of 39 Shakespeare plays.These translations present the Bard's work in language accessible to modern audienceswhile never losing the beauty of Shakespeare's verse.Enlisting thetalentsofa diverse group ofcontemporary playwrights, screenwriters, and dramaturges from diverse backgrounds,this projectreenvisionsShakespeare for thetwenty-firstcentury.These volumes make these works available for the first time in printanewFirst Folio fora new era.

Read more less

Book SynopsisLinda Hutcheon, in this original study, examines the modes, forms and techniques of narcissistic fiction, that is, fiction which includes within itself some sort of commentary on its own narrative and/or linguistic nature. Her analysis is further extended to discuss the implications of such a development for both the theory of the novel and reading theory.Having placed this phenomenon in its historical context Linda Hutcheon uses the insights of various reader-response theories to explore the ""paradox"" created by metafiction: the reader is, at the same time, co-creator of the self-reflexive text and distanced from it because of its very self-reflexiveness. She illustrates her analysis through the works of novelists such as Fowles, Barth, Nabokov, Calvino, Borges, Carpentier, and Aquin. For the paperback edition of this important book a preface has been added which examines developments since first publication. Narcissistic Narrative was selected by Choice as one of the outstanding academic books for 1981-1982.Trade Review"In this volume Hutcheon accomplishes two important goals at once. She provides sensitive, insightful readings of a wide range of contemporary novels which are genuinely difficult to read, even to adepts. And at the same time she places these readings within the contexts of critical theory which seem to be required in order to do these works justice. Either of these tasks by itself would be formidable; here critical precept and textual analysis are woven together throughout the work.... There is no mistaking the high degree of critical intelligence which is evident throughout this book. Present everywhere is esthetic sensibility joined to theoretical awareness. For anyone working on this body of literature, or on other works in a similar vein, this book provides an essential point of reference." -- Irwin Gopnik, McGill University -- , Recherches sémiotiques/Semiotic Inquiry, Vol. 2 no. 4Table of Contents Narcissistic Narrative: The Metafictional Paradox, by Linda Hutcheon Preface Acknowledgements Introduction 1 Modes and Forms of Narrative Narcissism: Introduction of a Typology 2 Process and Product: The Implications of Metafiction for the Theory of the Novel as a Mimetic Genre 3 Thematizing Narrative Artifice: Parody, Allegory, and the Mise En Abyme 4 Freedom Through Artifice: The French Lieutenant's Woman 5 Actualizing Narrative Structures: Detective Plot, Fantasy, Games, and the Erotic 6 The Language of Fiction: Creating the Heterocosm of Fictive Referents 7 The Theme of Linguistic identity: La Maccina Modiale 8 Generative Word Play: The Outer Limits of the Novel Genre 9 Composite Identity: The Reader, the Writer, the Critic Conclusion and Speculations Index of Subjects and Names

Read more less

Book SynopsisJeffrey B. Ferguson is remembered as an Amherst College professor of mythical charisma and for his long-standing engagement with George Schuyler, culminating in his paradigm changing book The Sage of Sugar Hill. Continuing in the vein of his ever questioning the conventions of “race melodrama” through the lens of which so much American cultural history and storytelling has been filtered, Ferguson’s final work is brought together here in Race and the Rhetoric of Resistance.Trade Review“These essays have extraordinary range, they are deeply thoughtful, and the writing has verve. It is sometimes polemical, but always braced by suggestive intelligence.” -- Uday S. Mehta * Professor of Political Theory, Graduate Center, City University of New York *"In this collection, Jeff Ferguson has given us notes toward an intellectual project, now a collective one, that may move us beyond the constant sway between the extremes of unending suffering and explosive resistance as the only means for narrating Black life." -- Farah Jasmine Griffin * author of Harlem Nocturne: Women Artists and Progressive Politics During World War II *"Jeffrey Ferguson challenges us to see America for the weird experiment it has been. Broad ranging, and probing, Race and the Rhetoric of Resistance is a testament to Ferguson’s sorely missed elegance and wit." -- Glenda Carpio * author of African American Literary Studies *"These brief, insightful essays illustrate what the world of literary scholarship lost with the tragically early passing of Jeffrey B. Ferguson. In his work, Ferguson deftly explores the limitations and complications of some key terms and concepts—race and Enlightenment, the blues, resistance and suffering, sincerity and authenticity, memory and hope—that have governed scholarship on African American literature and culture over the past quarter of a century. With wit, intelligence, and erudition Ferguson traces the lines of inquiry that have led us into the impasses that have characterized discussions of race and democracy since the colonial era, and in doing so he demonstrates how this history, if we engage it without mystifications and evasions, may yet provide us resources with which to understand our present. Framed by Werner Sollor’s preface and an afterword by George Hutchinson, Race and the Rhetoric of Resistance confronts us with what Ferguson calls the 'uncomfortable ironies, unexpected continuities, and unsettling discontinuities' that constitute the history of race and inequality in our troubled Republic." -- Kenneth W. Warren * University of Chicago *"Race and the Rhetoric of Resistance is a rich, pathbreaking book, its pages weighed down by the gravity of the problems it addresses, the significance of the solution it suggests, as well as poignant awareness that what the author began here will forever remain unfinished." * Soundings *"In this collection of complex, rich and insightful essays, Ferguson positions himself on the edge looking inside African American communities, and their literary and cultural production from a sober distance." * Ethnic and Racial Studies *"While Ferguson’s astute critical lens is acutely missed in our current political moment, his paradigm-shifting provocations, incisive critiques, philosophical ruminations, and exhilaratingly wide-ranging use of sources in this book will inspire readers to move beyond resistance, and to think critically and in nuanced ways about race, nation, and foundational American myths, discovering new “intoxicating combinations” in our own Black study." -- Raquel Kennon * European Journal of American Studies *Table of ContentsTable of Contents Foreword 1. Race and the Rhetoric of Resistance 2. Freedom, Equality, Race 3. A Blue Note on Black American Literary Criticism and the Blues 4. Of Mr. W. E. B. Du Bois and Others Notes on Escape Afterword Editor's Acknowledgments

Read more less

Book SynopsisTrade Review"Brilliant drawings and a powerful translation make Madame d’Aulnoy’s seventeenth-century fairy tales feel just as immediate and necessary as when they were written. . . . Natalie Frank’s stylized drawings work with the text to bring its heartwrenching and gruesome scenes to life, heightening the emotional impact of crucial moments."---George Hajjar, Foreword Reviews"Madame d’Aulnoy’s 17th-century French fairy tales are interpreted by the feminist visual artist Natalie Frank in surreal, contemporary images." * New York Times *"The new illustrations by Natalie Frank are another triumph of this collection, and they heighten the potential for d’Aulnoy’s radical stances. Frank’s women are larger than life; they’re clearly defined in a realist style while surrounded by surreal splashes of color and figures that blend into one another."---Megan Otto, Chicago Review of Books

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis original and provocative engagement with Erasmus’ work argues that the Dutch humanist discovered in classical Stoicism several principles which he developed into a paradigm-shifting application of Stoicism to Christianity. Ross Dealy offers novel readings of some lesser and well-known Erasmian texts and presents a detailed discussion of the reception of Stoicism in the Renaissance. In a considered interpretation of Erasmus’ De taedio Iesu, Dealy clearly shows the two-dimensional Stoic elements in Erasmus’ thought from an early time onward. Erasmus’ genuinely philosophical disposition is evidenced in an analysis of his edition of Cicero’s De officiis. Building on stoicism Erasmus shows that Christ’s suffering in Gethsemane was not about the triumph of spirit over flesh but about the simultaneous workings of two opposite but equally essential types of value: on the one side spirit and on the other involuntary and intractableTrade Review‘This meticulous study of 16th century thinking can be dense, but the picture of Erasmus that emerges will prove worth the effort.’ -- D.A. Brown * Choice Magazine vol 55:01:2017 *"The Stoic Origins of Erasmus’ Philosophy of Christ contains many interesting ideas, which Dealy presents in an engaging way and is a welcome addition to the literature. " -- George Lazaroiu * Sixteenth Century Journal vol. 49, no. 1 2018 *"The Stoic Origins of Erasmus’ Philosophy of Christ is a challenging and thought-provoking book. It is a book that goes to the heart of the philosophical subject matter that is everywhere apparent in Erasmus’s writings, but hardly ever studied in serious ways." -- Han van Ruler, Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam * Renaissance Quarterly, vol 71 4, Winter 2018 *"The Stoic Origins of Erasmus’ Philosophy of Christ makes an important contribution to Erasmus scholarship through a close reading of two of Erasmus’ early works that are rarely considered alongside one another, the De taedio Iesu and the Enchiridion, in an attempt to trace their considerable Stoic elements."v -- Kirk Essary, University of Western Australia * Erasmus Studies, vol 39 *Table of ContentsPreface Abbreviations Introduction A Philosophy Beneath The Rhetoric Part I The Fifteenth-Century Background Part Ii Erasmus' Two-Dimensional Stoicism Part Iii Stoic Natural Instinct and Christ's Fear of Death, De Taedio Iesu Part Iv Larger Philosophical Issues Part V Correcting a Thousand Years of Christology Part Vi Beyond Devotionalist Assumptions Part Vii Spiritual Warfare Conclusion Bibliography Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisA new approach to the vast nuclear infrastructure and the apocalypses it produces, focusing on Black, queer, Indigenous, and Asian American literatures Since 1945, America has spent more resources on nuclear technology than any other national project. Although it requires a massive infrastructure that touches society on myriad levels, nuclear technology has typically been discussed in a limited, top-down fashion that clusters around powerful men. In Infrastructures of Apocalypse, Jessica Hurley turns this conventional wisdom on its head, offering a new approach that focuses on neglected authors and Black, queer, Indigenous, and Asian American perspectives. Exchanging the usual white, male “nuclear canon” for authors that include James Baldwin, Leslie Marmon Silko, and Ruth Ozeki, Infrastructures of Apocalypse delivers a fresh literary history of post-1945 America that focuses on apocalypse from below. Here Hurley critiques the racialized urban spaces of civil defense and reads nuclear waste as a colonial weapon. Uniting these diverse lines of inquiry is Hurley’s belief that apocalyptic thinking is not the opposite of engagement but rather a productive way of imagining radically new forms of engagement.Infrastructures of Apocalypse offers futurelessness as a place from which we can construct a livable world. It fills a blind spot in scholarship on American literature of the nuclear age, while also offering provocative, surprising new readings of such well-known works as Atlas Shrugged, Infinite Jest, and Angels in America. Infrastructures of Apocalypse is a revelation for readers interested in nuclear issues, decolonial literature, speculative fiction, and American studies.Trade Review"Infrastructures of Apocalypse is a wonderfully rich and first-rate account of the ways in which American literature records and critiques the material impact of the nuclear age. Jessica Hurley's focus on the infrastructure of the nuclear state, rather than on the possibility of totalizing destruction, enables a new understanding of post-45 American culture."—Daniel Grausam, author of On Endings: American Postmodern Fiction and the Cold War"Infrastructures of Apocalypse is an extraordinary book. It demonstrates how postwar American literature documents the ways that nuclear technology becomes national infrastructure, with consequences for how we can understand the distribution of risk and resource in the period. Jessica Hurley’s innovative readings and keen narrative sensibility render infrastructural relations at their most paradoxical and most political. This is an urgent and timely account of how our self-made apocalypses are entangled with long historical processes and what their alternate futures may comprise."—Kate Marshall, author of Corridor: Media Architectures in American Fiction "Modest and profound."—Jewish Currents "Infrastructures of Apocalypse will instantly take its place in the growing tradition of environmental justice criticism that is carefully attuned to the entangled legacies of settler colonialism, white supremacy, and the environment—and to the potential of radical futureless-ness to enact a more just present."—ISLE "Hurley's writing is lively and consistently hopeful, despite the difficult subject matter she addresses."—Modern Language Review Table of ContentsContentsIntroduction: End Times1. White Sovereignty and the Nuclear State2. Civil Defense and Black Apocalypse3. Star Wars, AIDS, and Queer Endings4. Nuclear Waste, Native America, Narrative FormCoda: Nuclear EntanglementsAcknowledgmentsNotesIndex

Read more less

Book SynopsisCharts Robert Crumb's intellectual trajectory and explores the recurring philosophical themes that permeate his depictions of literary and biographical works and the ways he responds to them through innovative, dazzling compositional techniques.

Read more less

Book SynopsisA BBC Radio 4 Book of the WeekExcellent.' New StatesmanOutstanding.' Irish TimesEnthralling.' GuardianShapiro at his best.' Daily Telegraph From the author of 1599, a fresh perspective on the history of the United States and a timely reminder of Shakespeare's indelible influence.Shakespeare's position as England's national poet is unquestionable. But as James Shapiro illuminates in this revelatory new history, Shakespeare has long held an essential place in American culture too. Why, though, would a proudly independent republic embrace England's greatest writer? Especially when his works enact so many of America's darkest nightmares: interracial marriage, cross-dressing, same-sex love, tyranny and assassination? Shapiro leads us to fascinating answers and startling stories.

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisA deep dive into the science behind the creative ways Shakespeare killed off his characters.William Shakespeare found dozens of different ways to kill off his characters, and audiences today still enjoy the same reactions shock, sadness, fear that they did more than 400 years ago when these plays were first performed. But how realistic are these deaths, and did Shakespeare have the knowledge to back them up?In the Bard's day death was a part of everyday life. Plague, pestilence and public executions were a common occurrence, and the chances of seeing a dead or dying body on the way home from the theatre were high. It was also a time of important scientific progress. Shakespeare kept pace with anatomical and medical advances, and he included the latest scientific discoveries in his work, from blood circulation to treatments for syphilis. He certainly didn't shy away from portraying the reality of death on stage, from the brutal to the mundane, and the spectacTrade ReviewHarkup’s enjoyable and informative survey presents this somatic Shakespeare for the Horrible Histories generation. * Times Literary Supplement *Were I a school-teacher introducing phone-addicted teens to Macbeth or Romeo and Juliet, I'd go in big on Shakespeare's 'violent delights'. * Daily Mail (4 stars) *Well-written and intriguing, the book provides a rich behind-the-scenes look at science and historical fact, using the focus on death to deepen understanding of Shakespeare’s life and work. * Historical Novel Society *The author of A Is for Arsenic and Making the Monster: The Science Behind Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein continues her macabre cultural musings with an immensely readable roundup of Shakespearean death. * Smithsonian Magazine *Death By Shakespeare is a macabre but fascinating read, rich in historical context, scientific insight, and intriguing asides. * Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine *Harkup serves a delectable stew of history, science and wit that is sure to sate the appetite of any Anglophile. * Booklist *Serious scholarship meets horrid histories. Kathryn Harkup located Death by Shakespeare within the contexts of science and medicine, health and safety, crime and punishment, and in the process gives us tour de force descriptions of Juliet's deep coma, Cleopatra's asp, Ophelia's drowning and the carnage at Agincourt, among other celebrated exits. It's a good read – never morbid, and full of insights into the Tudor way of death and how far we've come. -- Professor Sir Christopher Frayling, cultural historian, writer and broadcasterLight enough to be a quick read for fun but hefty enough to educate, this is a book that any student would be happy to study for a class, and it’s a solid addition to any nonfiction or Shakespearean fan’s collection. Yet again, Harkup has delivered a satisfying, sterling examination of an iconic figure’s literary contributions to history. * Criminal Element *Table of ContentsI shall offend, either to detain or give it. The contents, as in part I understand them, are to blame. King Lear, Act 1, Scene 2 Prologue Chapter 1: Our Humble Author Chapter 2: All the World’s a Stage Chapter 3: Will You Be Cured of Your Infirmity? Chapter 4: Off With His Head! Chapter 5: Murder, Murder! Chapter 6: The Dogs of War Chapter 7: A Plague O’both Your Houses! Chapter 8: Most Delicious Poison Chapter 9: To Be, or Not to Be Chapter 10: Excessive Grief the Enemy to the Living Chapter 11: Exit Pursued by a Bear Epilogue Appendix Bibliography Acknowledgements Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisHarperCollins is proud to present its incredible range of best-loved, essential classics.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe most famous and influential work of English fantasy ever published, reimagined for a new generation of readers by John Matthews, one of the world's leading Arthurian experts, and illustrated by internationally acclaimed Tolkien artist, John Howe.Journey back to the legendary time of King Arthur and his knights of the Round Table, of Merlin and dragons, of the Great Quest for the Grail and the mysterious Otherworld of Faerie. A time of bravery, treachery and love.Here, you will read of Avenable, the girl brought up as a boy who becomes a famous knight, and of Gawain''s strange birth and his rise to the highest possible rank: Emperor of Rome. Here too are some of the earliest Celtic tales of Arthur, and a completely new version of Merlin the Enchanter''s story. There is also the story of Morien, whose adventures are as fantastic and exciting as any to be found in Malory's Le Morte D'Arthur.THE GREAT BOOK OF KING ARTHUR presents for the first time many long-forgotten tales, dramatical

Read more less

Book SynopsisSunny Xiang offers a new way of understanding the American cold war in Asia by tracing aesthetic manifestations of Oriental inscrutability across a wide range of texts. She puts interrogation reports, policy memos, and field notes into conversation with novels, poems, documentaries, and mixed media work.Trade ReviewTonal Intelligence is smart and theoretically sophisticated. The book marks a significant contribution to work in Asian American and Asian studies, studies of twentieth-century literature and culture, theories of form and affect, and transpacific studies of late twentieth-century Asia. -- Denise Cruz, author of Transpacific Femininities: The Making of the Modern FilipinaAt once a profound meditation on method and archive and an important contribution to transpacific and Cold War studies, Tonal Intelligence boldly rethinks race and self-representation by theorizing tone as a way to read racial meaning. Xiang’s ambitious remit and strikingly original conceptualizations offer a powerful reconfiguration of aesthetics, affect, and the geopolitical. -- Jini Kim Watson, author of The New Asian City: Three-Dimensional Fictions of Space and Urban FormTonal Intelligence is an exceptional study of racial formation that tacks between the two ends of the Cold War. Its archive of critical sources is dazzling: Xiang engages and inhabits multiple critical fields and subfields, and she conveys her broad and deep bank of critical knowledge with ease and verve. -- Josephine Park, author of Cold War Friendships: Korea, Vietnam, and Asian American LiteratureIn Tonal Intelligence, Xiang’s achievement lies in how well she reads Asian inscrutability . . . her tonal analyses do much good in feeling out just how facile the rhetoric of racial essentialism truly is. * Los Angeles Review of Books *Tonal Intelligence is remarkably effective in demonstrating what academics and practitioners can gain from reading the archives against the grain. Xiang succeeds in opening an important methodological door. Intelligence scholars should take note. * International Journal of Intelligence and CounterIntelligence *Boldly grapples with the slipperiness of terminology about Asians and the inherent messiness of the cold war, pointing out many of the limits of our critical lenses. [. . .] Tonal Intelligence ought to serve as a model for scholars seeking to blend their archives seamlessly. * American Literary History *A necessary challenge to current methods of studying the Cold War and a guide to interpreting archives of intelligence. * H-War, H-Net Reviews *Table of ContentsAcknowledgmentsIntroduction: Hardly War, Partly History1. The Tone of Intelligence: Unconventional Warfare and Its Archives2. The Tone of Rumors: Imperial Tours and Kazuo Ishiguro’s Critique of Japanese Exceptionalism3. The Tone of the Times: Historical Temperament in the Works of Induk Pahk and Theresa Hak Kyung Cha4. The Tone of Documentation: Combating the Brainwashee’s Drone in Korean War “Testimonies” and “Confessions”5. The Tone of Intimacy: Imperial Brotherhood and Trinh T. Minh-ha’s Cinematic InterviewsCoda—the Tone of Commons: Solidarities Without a SolidNotesBibliographyIndex

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisContaining an urgently needed archival database of historical evidence, this volume includes both a consolidated presentation of the documentary records of black people in Tudor and Stuart England, and an interpretive narrative that confirms and significantly extends the insights of current theoretical excursus on race in early modern England. Here for the first time Imtiaz Habib collects the scattered references to black people-whether from Africa, India or America-in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century England, and arranges them into a systematic, chronological descriptive index. He offers an extended historical and theoretical interpretation of the records in six chapters, which serve as an introductory guide to the index even as they articulate a specific argument about the meaning of the records. Both the archival information and interpretive scholarship provide a strong framework from which future historical debates on race in early modern England can proceed.Trade Review'Imtiaz Habib's meticulous examination of English sources, both manuscript and printed, will profoundly reshape the ongoing arguments about "race" in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century England. For decades to come, scholars in many fields will gratefully mine Habib's chronological chart of 448 records of "black people" between 1500 and 1677 and debate his extensive analysis. Black Lives in the English Archives is a major contribution.' Alden T. Vaughan, Columbia University, USA '...A valuable reference for ethnic historians, archivists, and Anglophiles...Recommended.' Choice ’Imtiaz Habib has done us a great service by providing this accessible database of references to Africans, Indians and Americans in early modern England, some never published before.’ Times Literary Supplement '[Habib's] book is a detailed and sophisticated study that makes a significant contribution towards filling the yawning gap in our knowledge, a gap that apparently we did not know was there. ...[an] important contribution to advancing historical understandings of race and colonialism in early modern England.' ParergonTable of ContentsIntroduction: The Missing (Black) Subject1 Early Tudor Black Records The Mixed Beginnings of a Black Population2 Elizabethan London Black RecordsThe Writing of Absence3 Black Records of Seventeenth-Century LondonABenign Neglect and the Legislation of Enslavement4 Black People outside London, 1558–1677The Provincial Backdrop5 Indians and OthersThe Protocolonial DreamAfterword

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisLucy Prebble is one of Britain''s foremost writers for the stage and screen. This eagerly anticipated play collection brings together her landmark plays for the first time, showcasing her work from 2003 to 2019. Beginning with her George Devine Award-winning play The Sugar Syndrome it continues through her explosive look at the biggest financial scandal in history, concluding with her pointed dramatization of the one of the most shocking news stories of the 2010s. The Sugar Syndrome (2003) Dani is on a mission. She''s just 17, hates her parents, skives college and prefers life in the chatrooms. What she''s looking for is someone honest and direct. Instead she finds Tim, a man twice her age, who thinks she is 11 and a boy. What seems at first to be a case of crossed wires, ends up as an unlikely, and unsettling friendship between the two, which culminates in a shocking, and morally challenging revelation.Enron (2009) One of the most infamous scandals in financial hiTrade ReviewA playwright blessed with an exceptionally fine mind * Telegraph *A brilliantly bold and ferociously intelligent drama about our slippery times * Financial Times (on A Very Expensive Poison) *Prebble has written a profound and stirring play. The material is complex but always accessible, the drama serious and informative yet deeply human, with the odd jolt of piercing humour. The Effect confirms her as one of the most intelligent voices in British theatre. * Evening Standard (on The Effect) *An exhilarating mix of political satire, modern morality and multimedia spectacle * Guardian (on ENRON) *Table of ContentsIntroduction The Sugar Syndrome The Effect Enron A Very Expensive Poison

Read more less

Book SynopsisFOREWORD BY ALI SMITHWITH AN INTRODUCTION BY FRANCESCA WADEWho better to serve as a guide to great books and their authors than Virginia Woolf?In the early years of its existence, the Times Literary Supplement published some of the finest writers in English: T. S. Eliot, Henry James and E. M. Forster among them. But one of the paper's defining voices was Virginia Woolf, who produced a string of superb essays between the two World Wars.The weirdness of Elizabethan plays, the pleasure of revisiting favourite novels, the supreme examples of Charlotte Brontë, George Eliot and Henry James, Thomas Hardy and Joseph Conrad: all are here, in anonymously published pieces, in which may be glimpsed the thinking behind Woolf's works of fiction and the enquiring, feminist spirit of A Room of One's Own.Here is Woolf the critical essayist, offering, at one moment, a playful hypothesis and, at another, a judgement laid down with the authority of a twentieth-century Dr Johnson. Here is Woolf working out precisely what's great about Hardy, and how Elizabeth Barrett Browning made books a substitute for living because she was forbidden to scamper on the grass. Above all, here is Virginia Woolf the reader, whose enthusiasm for great literature remains palpable and inspirational today.

Read more less

Book SynopsisTales of the werewolf are well established as a sub-strand of the popular horror genre; less widely known is how far back in time their provenance lies. This is the first book in any language devoted to the werewolf tales that survive from antiquity, exploring their place alongside witches, ghosts, demons, and soul-flyers in a shared story-world.Trade ReviewOgden sets out to prove that, in the ancient world, werewolves "inhabited the same conceptual space...as sorcerers, witches, and ghosts," and succeeds admirably. * Debbie Felton, Religious Studies Review *Ogden characteristically writes with verve, clarity, independent-mindedness and wit, and always displays an impressive breadth and depth of learning - grounded in a genuinely, not just superficially, multilingual study of previous scholarship-any reader who opens the present work can expect a treat. * Richard Buxton, GNOMON *Summing up, the importance of this work is undeniable: The Werewolf in the Ancient World is destined to become the reference treatise on lycanthropy in antiquity, and it certainly has what it takes to be so - not least, the author's familiarity with scholarly literature in languages other than English. * Tommaso Braccini, Universita di Siena, ARYS: Antiquity, Religions and Societies *This book is packed full of source material for those who are keen to research more deeply into the phenomenon * J M Lashley, Cambridge Core *Readers will most certainly find lasting value in the many long translations of primary source materials marshalled in The Werewolf in the Ancient World, which will provide a useful refernce for all future discussions of the ancient and mysterious versipellis. * Scott Bruce, Bryn Mawr Classical Review *The broad breadth of the book provides Ogden with a plethora of sources to consider, creating a thoroughly researched discussion and a meticulous sourcebook ... The Werewolf in the Ancient World is a rich scholarly resource ... Ogden's writing style is lively and engaging, creating an overall enjoyable and accessible read for scholars, students, and casual readers. * Julianne Rach, Ancient History Bulletin *Daniel Ogden's fascinating and wide-ranging study of the werewolf from ancient Greece to the Middle Ages also adopts the folklorist approach ... This fast-paced and well-researched book certainly has a broad appeal and will be both a classic study on the topic and a useful collection of ancient sources on werewolves. * Ivana Petrovic, Greece & Rome *The Greeks had a word for writer-collectors of mirabilia, or wonderful, incredible things; they were known as "paradoxographers." In The Werewolf in the Ancient World Ogden shows himself to be a keen contemporary paradoxographer. Combining detailed analysis of the sources with digressive reveries, he's aiming at "a comprehensive sourcebook" and has hunted across the centuries for buried items of lore, ranging from ancient Greek texts to Christian commentaries on pagan thinkers, then on to the medieval period, with busy digressions on Icelandic sagas, Grimm fairy tales, and Victorian ghost stories. In pursuit of his quarry, Ogden investigates sorcery, shapeshifting, initiation rites, mental derangement, spirit projection, and shamanic night flying, expounding with irrepressible enthusiasm on such things as werewolves' relations with ghosts, vampires, sorcerers, and witches. * Marina Warner, New York Review of Books *Quite probably the best book that will ever be written on the topic. * Gail Nina Anderson, The Fortean Times *The Werewolf in the Ancient World represents an immense work of scholarship. It should be praised for not succumbing to the unusually common problem of hyper-fixation on a particular time period, so as to make it appear like the werewolf is not a myth that's existed since antiquity. Raher than focusing only on ancient Greece and Rome, Ogden works to point out how the tropes established by Petronius in the Satyricon repeatedly pop up in medieval and Renaissance era folklore, and even early 20th century works of fiction like Bram Stoker's "Dracula's Guest" (1914) and Guy Endore's "Werewolf of Paris" (1933). * Justin Mullis, AIPT *Table of ContentsIntroduction. Petronius, Werewolves, and Folklore 1: The Curse of the Werewolf: Witches and Sorcerers 2: Werewolves, Ghosts, and the Dead 3: The Werewolf Inside, and Out 4: Werewolves and Projected Souls 5: The Demon in a Wolfskin: A Werewolf at Temesa? 6: The Werewolves of Arcadia Conclusion: The World of Ancient Werewolves and their Stories Appendix A. Homer's Circe as a Witch Appendix B. Cynocephali Appendix C. False Werewolves: Dolon and the Luperci References Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisFeatures explanations of key themes, motifs and symbols and detailed analysis of important characters.

Read more less

Book SynopsisAs part of the FUTURES series, authorand essayist Simon Okotie interprets the signposts - evident through the history of the novel - thatpoint to the form's fate.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis collection highlights the contributions of women writers, editors and critics to periodical culture in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Read more less

Book SynopsisWriting at the very moment when the foundations of Western thought were being challenged and undermined, George Eliot fashions in Middlemarch a concept of life and society free of the past's dogma yet able to confront the scepticism that was taking over the age.

Read more less

Book SynopsisTrade Review“The established facts of his life, as well as some fruitful speculations, are responsibly laid out . . . Mr. de Figueiredo does a fine job of chronicling how, in their differing ways, country after country fell under Ibsen’s spell.”—Brad Leithauser, Wall Street Journal“This book could be an education” —John Carey, The Sunday TimesListed on Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles List for 2019 "Ivo de Figueiredo's luminous prose reveals the myth, the mask and the reality of the "Norwegian sphinx." Tracing Ibsen's deliberate construction of his public persona, and his careful management of his career, de Figueiredo also deftly conveys the social and cultural tensions of Ibsen's Norway while keeping his plays and their reception in close focus. An enthralling read.”—Toril Moi, author of Henrik Ibsen and The Birth of Modernism“de Figueiredo approaches Ibsen, so elusive as both man and writer, in a spirit of intense, scrupulous inquiry in which he involves his readers. His Ibsen is therefore refreshingly freed from any conventional compartmentalisation and allowed to develop, throughout his long life, in all his seeming inconsistencies and unique self-vindicating creations. Robert Ferguson’s supple English prose matches the narrative movement and the emotional varieties of the Norwegian original.”—Paul Binding, author of Hans Christian Andersen"de Figueiredo’s splendid biography of Ibsen ranks with those of Koht, Meyer, and Ferguson — with this difference: that he treats the man and the work as independent historical subjects so that the plays become a study of the zeitgeist, with an emphasis on their reception and transformation of European society.”—Errol Durbach, author of Ibsen the Romantic

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisForegrounds underrepresented agents (women, nature and the nonhuman) in and through the poetry of Theocritus.

Read more less

Book SynopsisBy bringing together leading Victorianists with a wide range of interests, this innovative collection of essays involves the reader in new approaches to Trollope's work.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe essays in this volume provide new scholarly insights into British fin de siecle and enrich our understanding of this complex period, while paying particular attention to the importance of regionalism.

Read more less

Book SynopsisStudies alternative concepts to received theories and practices of poetry in early modern England

Read more less

Book SynopsisKamenetsky shows how Nazis used children’s literature to shape a “Nordic Germanic” worldview, intended to strengthen the German folk community, the Führer, and the fatherland by imposing a racial perspective on mankind. Their thus corroded the last remnants of the Weimar Republic’s liberal education, while promoting a following for Hitler.Trade Review“In a significant study based on years of archival research and embracing a wealth of primary sources, Christa Kamenetsky demonstrates exactly how the Nazis indoctrinated ‘the young nation.’…[This is] a richly rewarding and historically informative tapestry.…Highly recommended for the insight it gives into a neglected area of youth culture in the Third Reich.” * American Historical Review *"Throughout her study, Kamenetsky provides a vast number of documents, references, and illustrations to present a comprehensive picture of how the Nazis sought to institutionalize children’s literature. She also demonstrates the gaps and weaknesses in this process of institutionalization that prevented the Nazis from completely capturing the minds of the young.” * Germanic Review *“(Kamenetsky’s) study overwhelms the reader with the picture of what surely must have been a censor’s utopia, for she reveals the two-fold dream of censors in operation: aggression against everything that does not fit the censor’s view and imposition of a predetermined value system by the censor whose aggression has been successful.” * Children's Literature *“Children’s Literature in Hitler’s Germany presents a fascinating picture of political censorship, control of publishing, and manipulation of story, and suggests that literature, when used to teach cultural values, can become a standard for conformity…. As German leaders began to reshape children’s literature, traditional fiction was discarded in favor of German and Nordic folklore, which was rewritten to fit the ideals of Nazi leaders. Germans, it was argued, should be aware of their true origins, and should realize that their peasant beginnings held the moral and cultural fiber most important to Germanic civilization.” * Children's Literature Association Quarterly *

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis edition of Arthur Miller''s classic tragedy brings the play alive for students whether in the classroom or drama studio. With activities that target exactly the right level plus in-depth biographical and contextual information to deepen students'' understanding of the play, this edition provides comprehensive, relevant and engaging support for 14-16 students. The brand new design ensures that the text and supporting materials are the clearest and most accessible available. Set during the Salem Witch Trials of 1692, The Crucible exposes the tensions caused by gossip and rumour within a tight-knit community, where eventually no one is safe from accusation and vengeance. Seen as a parallel to McCarthyism and the fear of communism in 1950s America, the play''s themes of truth, justice, honour, mass hysteria and individuality still resonate with audiences around the world today.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis book, based on a conference organised by The Friends of Mr Biswas, explores the writing careers of Seepersad Naipaul and his two sons, Vidia and Shiva, within the sustenance and sometimes pain of family connections -- synergies that V.S. Naipaul laboured to conceal, as the publishing histories of his father’s collection of short stories and Letters between a Father and Son both show. Essays by Brinsley Samaroo and Aaron Eastley focus on Seepersad Naipaul’s importance as a journalist who opened up what was hidden in Trinidadian society, who boldly creolised reporting styles and offered his sons an example of the possibilities of combining fiction and non-fiction. Arnold Rampersad, in his moving essay on his journalist father, Jerome, further makes the case for seeing a tradition of Trinidadian newspaper writing that achieves literary quality. Not only is the father given long-overdue attention, but so too is the work of Shiva Naipaul, exploring the same family territory in his deservedly classic novel, Fireflies.Essays find new things to say about V.S. Naipaul: Andre Bagoo writes on his fascination with gay sexuality and cinema (another essay deals with the themes of sadomasochism and incest), Hywel Dix advances the idea of “lateness”, in an insightful reading of Magic Seeds, whilst other essays focus on issues of race, gender and globalisation in the Naipauls’ work. Kevin Frank, for instance, explores the contrast between the father’s engagement with Creole society, and his sons’ recoil, and Elizabeth Jackson and Paula Morgan write respectively on masculinity and motherhood in the Naipauls’ work.Seepersad and Sons is highly readable because contributors to this book have followed the example and urging of the keynote speaker, Professor Kenneth Ramchand, to address readers beyond an academic circle, and convey the importance of the Naipauls and their literary heritage to the wider society. Literary contributions from Sharon Millar, Raymond Ramcharitar and Keith Jardim make connections with the Naipaulian legacy that show just how alive it is. Robert Clarke provides a visual dimension to the book in a photo essay on the St James district of Port of Spain and J. Vijay Maharaj writes on the complementary art of Shastri Maharaj.Contributors include: Kenneth Ramchand, Vijay Maharaj, Bhoendradatt Tewarie, Nicholas Laughlin, Aaron Eastley, Brinsley Samaroo, Arnold Rampersad, Robert Clarke, Andre Bagoo, Sharon Millar, Keith Jardim, Raymond Ramcharitar, Kevin Frank, Jim Hanna, Hywel Dix, Elizabeth Jackson, Paula Morgan, Fariza Mohammed, Meghan Cleghorn, Varistha Persad and Nivedita Misra.

Read more less

Book SynopsisClive Bloom is Professor in Residence at the Larkin Centre for Poetry and Creative Writing at Hull University, UK; Emeritus Professor at Middlesex University, UK; Research Fellow at New York University, USA and a Visiting Fellow at the University of Western Timisoara, Romania. A feature writer for The Financial Times, The Times, The Guardian, The Independent, The Irish Times and the London Evening Standard, Bloom is the author of many books on topics from literature to politics, including the political histories of London Violent City and Riot City. He has won a Bram Stoker Award, been shortlisted for a World Fantasy Award twice and is editor of series on crime and the Gothic for multiple publishing house. An international key note speaker he has given addresses to the Association of Forensic Psychiatrists and Gresham College, jointly curated two exhibitions, on Jack the Ripper and the Siege of Sidney Street at the Museum of London and has advised the British Cabinet Office on publish disorder issues.

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisFrom the Sunday Times bestselling author of The Last Act of Love, Cathy Rentzenbrink's Dear Reader is the ultimate love letter to reading and to finding the comfort and joy in stories.'Exquisite' - Marian Keyes, author of Grown Ups'A warm, unpretentious manifesto for why books matter’ - Sunday ExpressGrowing up, Cathy Rentzenbrink was rarely seen without her nose in a book and read in secret long after lights out. When tragedy struck, it was books that kept her afloat. Eventually they lit the way to a new path, first as a bookseller and then as a writer. No matter what the future holds, reading will always help.A moving, funny and joyous exploration of how books can change the course of your life, packed with recommendations from one reader to another.Trade ReviewCelebrates reading as a means of connection and a vehicle for escapism . . . a heartfelt reminder that, for all the wholesome effects that reading arguably has, the first reason to do it is for pleasure. Fittingly, Dear Reader is a pleasure to read * Times *I will never, ever forget the way Dear Reader made me feel: it is profoundly tender, generous, joy-filled, love-filled and compassionate. I have read so many wonderful books this year but this is the one I would buy and give away to everyone in the world if I could -- Daisy Buchanan, author of How to Be a Grown-UpIf you love books or if you need companionship during a difficult patch in your life or if you simply want to be taken by the hand by a writer who is kind, wise, funny, generous, insightful and profound, then this is the book for you -- Elizabeth DayExquisite. Dear Reader is touching, beautiful and contains countless excellent book recommendations! -- Marian KeyesCathy Rentzenbrink’s exploration of reading books and the comfort they bring in Dear Reader feels like art in your hands * Stylist, 'Best Gift Books this Christmas' *Joyful, poignant and essential reading for people who love books . . . it is a book to cherish -- Nina StibbeBeautifully written and a joy to read, Dear Reader is a best friend of a book -- AJ Pearce, Sunday Times bestselling author of Dear Mrs BirdThis love letter to reading, which is packed with recommendations, is pure joy * Good Housekeeping *Dear Reader restored my soul -- Sara Collins, author of The Confessions of Frannie LangtonA companion for readers everywhere . . . intimate, kind and self-effacing, it feels like someone is sitting right next to you, holding your hand and sharing their secrets. I loved it -- Kit de Waal, author of My Name is LeonA warm, unpretentious manifesto for why books matter * Sunday Express *Dear Reader is the best thing I’ve read for ages and it will stay with me forever -- Philippa Perry, author of The Book You Wish Your Parents Had Read (and Your Children Will be Glad That You Did)Your first port of call if you’re looking for a book to recommend or just a bit stuck on what to choose next. But it’s more than a reference book; it’s a personal account of how books have comforted the author and what they can do for the soul -- Kit de Waal * New Statesman, Books of the Year *A wonderful warm bath of a book. Perfect for all bookworms to sink into -- Jenny Colgan, author of Meet Me At The Cupcake CaféThis is a book that shows what can happen when reading becomes one of the foundation stones in someone’s life, how it miraculously reveals a map when you’ve lost your path and how it will always provide a connection to the world when we feel alone . . . Cathy, prepare for adulation -- Diane Setterfield, author of The Thirteenth TaleDear Reader is a comfort, an inspiration and a gift of a book for readers, reluctant readers and anyone who wants to feel better about themselves and the world. I applaud Cathy Rentzenbrink, she is a truly brilliant writer -- Julia Samuel, author of Grief WorksYour first port of call if you’re looking for a book to recommend or just a bit stuck on what to choose next. But it’s more than a reference book; it’s a personal account of how books have comforted the author and what they can do for the soul -- Kit de Waal, 'Books of the Year' * New Statesman *Comfort reading has been to the fore lately, and you'll find it in abundance in this joyous memoir of a life immersed in the pleasures and consolations of books by the author of The Last Act of Love . . . It's chock-full of Rentzenbrink's splendid reading recommendations, from "Children's Books I Love to Reread" and books about "Bad Love", to "Posh People Behaving Badly" and "Helpful Non-Fiction", which her own book most certainly is -- Caroline Sanderson * The Bookseller *

Read more less

Book SynopsisFinalist for the 2020 PROSE Awards, Classics section Homer’s Odyssey is the first great travel narrative in Western culture. A compelling tale about the consequences of war, and about redemption, transformation, and the search for home, the Odyssey continues to be studied in universities and schools, and to be read and referred to by ordinary readers. Reading Homer’s Odyssey offers a book-by-book commentary on the epic’s themes that informs the non-specialist and engages the seasoned reader in new perspectives. Among the themes discussed are hospitality, survival, wealth, reputation and immortality, the Olympian gods, self-reliance and community, civility, behavior, etiquette and technology, ease, inactivity and stagnation, Penelope’s relationship with Odysseus, Telemachus’ journey, Odysseus’ rejection of Calypso’s offer of immortality, Odysseus’ lies, Homer’s use of the House of Atreus and other myths, the cinematic qualities of the epic’s structure, women’s role in the epic, and the Odyssey’s true ending. Footnotes clarify and elaborate upon myths that Homer leaves unfinished, explain terms and phrases, and provide background information. The volume concludes with a general bibliography of work on the Odyssey, in addition to the bibliographies that accompany each book’s commentary. Published by Bucknell University Press. Distributed worldwide by Rutgers University Press.Trade Review"The book is a great pleasure to read....Reading Homer’s Odyssey is a book that does exactly what it promises: it helps its reader to read (and understand) the Odyssey. It will appeal to a broad readership as well as to scholars and students of Classics and other fields, and it may also be suggested as accompanying reading in Classical Civilization classes or similar courses."— Bryn Mawr Classical Review "An eloquently erudite and insightful analysis of one of the world's most famous works of literature from Ancient Greece."— Midwest Book Review "Recommended." — Choice Kostas Myrsiades’ remarkably accessible and lively commentary comes as a great boost to readers who approach the Odyssey with great interest but little background in the world of the epic and the techniques of Homer. This book serves as a kind of museum guide through each portion of the Odyssey, giving us the benefit of the author’s wealth of erudition and knowledge in readily understandable prose. Myrsiades not only explains the peculiar features of the narrative and content but also offers many helpful interpretive approaches, including some recent controversial suggestions, that have arisen from his decades of teaching this epic. This commentary will be especially helpful in giving high school and college teachers with little formal classical training the information and tools that will make them authoritative in the classroom. A pleasure to read.— Scott Richardson, Professor of Classics, St. John’s University and the College of St. BenedictTable of ContentsPreface I. From Ithaca to Wonderland Chapter 1: Telemachus' Journey (Od.1-4) Chapter 2: Odysseus from Calypso to the Phaeacians (Od.5-8) Chapter 3: Odysseus' Wanderings (Od.9-12) II. From Wonderland to Ithaca Chapter 4: Odysseus and Telemachus at Eumaeus' Hut (Od.13-16) Chapter 5: Odysseus and Telemachus Strategize at the Palace (Od.17-20) Chapter 6: Revenge, Reunion, and Reconciliation (Od.21-24) Afterword Bibliography

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisTrade Review"Comparisons to [Emily] Wilson's recent translation are inevitable. . . . Both Wilson and Green capture the spirit of the Odyssey, but word-for-word, Green also captures a feel for the Homeric language, an experience closer to the original." * Library Journal *"Green's intelligent translation is . . . a superb choice." * The Weekly Standard *"Green brings to the poem the rhetorical directness and historical expertise which worked so well in his translation of The Iliad. Speeches in his version are vigorous and direct. " * London Review of Books *“The kind of absorption offered by Green’s translation seems particularly relevant to the reading of a poem from an alien culture and period. It contributes to the opening of the imagination that is surely one of the main pleasures of reading such a work. . . . I recommend this translation not only for its weighty introduction and notes but above all for the sensitivity of its expression.” * Manchester Review *Table of ContentsPrefaceAbbreviationsIntroductionTHE ODYSSEYSynopsisGlossarySelect Bibliography Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisAhuvia Kahane is Regius Chair of Greek and A. G. Leventis Professor of Greek Culture at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland. He is the author of several books, including A Companion to the Prologue of Apuleius' Metamorphoses (2000).

Read more less

Book SynopsisA Book of the Year for The Times and the Sunday Times ‘The writer is the engineer of the human soul,’ claimed Stalin. Although one wonders how many found nourishment in Turkmenbashi’s Book of the Soul (once required reading for driving tests in Turkmenistan), not to mention Stalin’s own poetry. Certainly, to be considered great, a dictator must write, and write a lot. Mao had his Little Red Book, Mussolini and Saddam Hussein their romance novels, Kim Jong-il his treatise on the art of film, Hitler his hate-filled tracts. What do these texts reveal about their authors, the worst people imaginable? And how did they shape twentieth-century history? To find out, Daniel Kalder read them all – the badly written and the astonishingly badly written – so that you don’t have to. This is the untold history of books so terrible they should have been crimes.Trade Review‘Daniel Kalder has slogged his way through the 20th century’s “Krakatoa-like eruption of despotic verbiage” so you don’t have to… Kalder’s dispatches from “the transnational empire of ultra-boredom” are not only very funny, they also form a quirky, pacey guide to recent world history.’ * Sunday Times, Books of the Year *‘Full of…wonders, and startling individual facts… An overwhelmingly powerful reminder of 20th-century misrule, and of just how delusional human beings can be – especially if they’re literate.’ * Telegraph *‘This wonderfully entertaining book is a cautionary tale about how societies are easily wooed by foolish demagogues spouting gibberish.’ * The Times, Books of the Year *‘I enjoyed this book a great deal…it’s actually a rather snappy read.’ * Will Self, Guardian *‘Hugely compelling…Like coming across a planet-sized car crash, with hundreds of millions snarled up in the wreckage: you can’t look away. Kalder has really dug deep into the minds of these infernal texts’ creators, and thus delivers some truly enlightening insights.’ * Irish Independent *‘Daniel Kalder…deserves a medal…Dictator Literature is a great book... An insightful book, but also a funny one.' * The Times *‘Very funny… After reading Dictator Literature you will never look at books with such a benevolent eye again.’ * Spectator *‘A engaging, brisk, and morbidly humorous haul of the lives and literary pretensions of the murderous wingnuts who defined a century.’ * Irish Times *‘Kalder's book is an informative, lively and often hilarious account of some of the worst authors who ever lived, doubling as a history of the terrible ideologies that marred the last century. Some execrable books have come out of communism and fascism, but Dictator Literature is certainly not one of them.’ * Catholic Herald *‘A fascinating study…partly an enjoyable romp but mostly a sombre sidelong-glance history of 20th-century totalitarianism.’ * Sunday Telegraph *‘Brisk, and full of antic fun.’ * New Statesman *‘Highly readable.’ * Herald *‘A mesmerizing study of books by despots great and small, from the familiar to the largely unknown.’ * Washington Post *‘Kalder is our cheeky and irreverent guide to the (generally aggressively tedious) prose by history’s despots.’ * Tatler *‘This is about the most discomforting book I’ve read in the past year. Never mind Trump and never mind Twitter: Kalder demonstrates that words themselves, and the escapist spells we weave with them, are our riskiest civic gift.’ -- Simon Ings, author of Stalin and the Scientists‘A compelling examination of why bad minds create bad writing, and therefore a valuable read for anyone interested in literature – or the world, in fact. Kalder’s dry humour makes Dictator Literature a fun tour de force through the mad history of the 20th century and the present.’ -- Norman Ohler, author of Blitzed

Read more less

Book SynopsisAn Introduction to Quantitative Text Analysis for Linguistics: Reproducible Research Using R is a pragmatic textbook that equips students and researchers with the essential concepts and practical programming skills needed to conduct quantitative text analysis in a reproducible manner. Designed for undergraduate students and those new to the field, this book assumes no prior experience with statistics or programming, making it an accessible resource for anyone embarking on their journey into quantitative text analysis.Through a pedagogical approach which emphasizes intuitive understanding over technical details, readers will gain data literacy by learning to identify, interpret, and evaluate data analysis procedures and results. They will also develop research skills, enabling them to design, implement, and communicate quantitative text analysis projects effectively. The book places a strong emphasis on programming skills, guiding readers through interactive lessons,

Read more less