ELT & Literary Studies Books
University of California Press Homer the Theologian
Book SynopsisHere is the first survey of the surviving evidence for the growth, development, and influence of the Neoplatonist allegorical reading of the Iliad and Odyssey. Professor Lamberton argues that this tradition of reading was to create new demands on subsequent epic and thereby alter permanently the nature of European epic. The Neoplatonist reading was to be decisive in the birth of allegorical epic in late antiquity and forms the background for the next major extension of the epic tradition found in Dante.Table of ContentsI. Art and Ceremony in Late Antiquity by Sabine G. MacCormack II. Synesius of Cyrene: Philosopher-Bishop by Jay Bregman III. Theodosian Empresses: Women and Imperial Dominion in Late Antiquity by Kenneth G. Holum IV. John Chrysostom and the Jews: Rhetoric and Reality in the Late Fourth Century by Robert L. Wilken V. Biography in Late Antiquity: A Quest for the Holy Man by Patricia Cox VI. Pachomius: The Making of a Community In Fourth-Century Egypt by Philip Rousseau VII. Change in Byzantine Culture in the Eleventh and Twelfth Centuries by A. P. Kazhdan and Ann Wharton Epstein VIII. Leadership and Community in Late Antique Gaul by Raymond Van Dam IX. Homer the Theologian: Neoplatonist Allegorical Reading and the Growth of the Epic Tradition by Robert Lamberton X. Procopius and the Sixth Century by Averil Cameron XI. Guardians of the Language:The Grammarian and Society in Late Antiquity by R. A. Kaster
£24.65
University of California Press The Adventures of Tom Sawyer 135th Anniversary
Book SynopsisContains a selection of the author's letters and notes expressing his opinions on the publication of Tom Sawyer.Trade Review"The University of California Press has presented everything needed to understand Twain and his works. It has made him the most accessible of major American writers, the most thoroughly documented." * Chicago Sun-Times *"The Mark Twain Project looms over the landscape of literary scholarship like Mount Everest." * San Francisco Chronicle *Table of ContentsILLUSTRATIONS FOREWORD THE WRITING OF TOM SAWYER THE ADVENTURES OF TOM SAWYER Preface 1. Y -o-u-u Tom-Aunt Polly Decides Upon her Duty- Tom Practices Music-The Challenge-A Private Entrance 2. Strong Temptations-Strategic Movements-The Innocents Beguiled 3. Tom as a General-Triumph and Reward-Dismal Felicity-Commission and Omission 4. Mental Acrobatics-Attending Sunday-School-The Superintendent-"Showing off"-Tom Lionized 5. A Useful Minister-In Church-The Climax 6. Self-Examination-Dentistry-The Midnight Charm- Witches and Devils-Cautious Approaches-Happy Hours 7. A Treaty Entered Into-Early Lessons-A Mistake Made 8. Tom Decides on his Course-Old Scenes Re-enacted 9. A Solemn Situation-Grave Subjects Introduced- Injun Joe Explains 10. The Solemn Oath-Terror Brings Repentance- Mental Punishment 11. Muff Potter Comes Himself-Tom's Conscience at Work 12. Tom Shows his Generosity-Aunt Polly Weakens 13. The Young Pirates-Going to the Rendezvous-The Camp-Fire Talk 14. Camp-Life-A Sensation-Tom Steals Away from Camp 15. Tom Reconnoiters-Learns the Situation-Reports at Camp 16. A Day's Amusements-Tom Reveals a Secret-The Pirates take a Lesson-A Night Surprise-An Indian War 17. Memories of the Lost Heroes-The Point in Tom's Secret 18. Tom's Feelings Investigated-Wonderful Dream- Becky Thatcher Overshadowed-Tom Becomes Jealous-Black Revenge 19. Tom Tells the Truth 20. Becky in a Dilemma-Tom's Nobility Asserts Itself 21. Youthful Eloquence- Compositions by the Young Ladies-A Lengthy Vision- The Boys' Vengeance Satisfied 22. Tom's Confidence Betrayed-Expects Signal Punishment 23. Old Muff's Friends- Muff Potter in Court-Muff Potter Saved 24. Tom as the Village Hero- Days of Splendor and Nights of Horror-Pursuit of Injun Joe 25. About Kings and Diamonds-Search for the Treasure -Dead People and Ghosts 26. The Haunted House-Sleepy Ghosts-A Box of Gold -Bitter Luck 27. Doubts to be Settled-The Young Detectives 28. An Attempt at No. Two- Huck Mounts Guard 29. The Pic-nic-Huck on Injun Joe's Track-The "Revenge" Job-Aid for the Widow 30. The Welchman Reports- Huck Under Fire- The Story Circulated- A New Sensation- Hope Giving Way to Despair 31. An Exploring Expedition- Trouble Commences- Lost in the Cave-Total Darkness-Found but not Saved 32. Tom tells the Story of their Escape-Tom's Enemy in Safe Quarters 33 . The Fate of Injun Joe-Huck and Tom Compare Notes-An Expedition to the Cave-Protection Against Ghosts-"An Awful Snug Place"-A Reception at the Widow Douglas's 34. Springing a Secret-Mr. Jones' Surprise a Failure 35. A New Order of Things-Poor Huck-New Adventures Planned Conclusion EXPLANATORY NOTES SOURCES FOR CHARACTERS NOTE ON THE TEXT
£18.00
Cambridge University Press Cambridge Academic English B2 Upper Intermediate
Book SynopsisA three-level (B1+ to C1) integrated skills course for higher education students at university or on foundation courses.
£39.58
Cambridge University Press Professional English in Use Finance
Book SynopsisProfessional English in Use Finance is the latest exciting addition to the bestselling English Vocabulary in Use titles.
£32.59
University of California Press The Maximus Poems
Book SynopsisThis work brings together the three volumes of Olson's long poem (originally published in 1960, 1968 and 1975 respectively) in one book.
£34.00
Vintage Publishing Taylor Coleridge S Rime Of The Ancient Mariner
Book SynopsisSamuel Taylor Coleridge (17721834), one of the most imaginative poets of the English Romantic Movement, was also its most influential thinker and philosopher. The Rime of the Ancient Mariner was written early in his life, during a period of intense and impassioned creativity, and, like all his best work, has a visionary quality with strong religious and metaphysical overtones.Mervyn Peake (19111968) was born in China but moved to England at the age of eleven and studied at Eltham College, Kent, and at the Royal Academy Schools. His striking originality as an artist brought him renown as an illustrator of books such as Alice in Wonderland, The Hunting of the Snark and Treasure Island. He also wrote poetry and plays, but is best remembered as a writer for his Gormenghast trilogy of novels, Titus Groan, Gormenghast and Titus Alone, an extravagant gothic fantasy that has become a modern classic.Trade ReviewAstonishingly, the poem's spell doesn't seem to weaken over the years... The scenery remains thrillingly hellish, while laced with photographically realistic meteorological effects, and the narrative drive is irresistible * Guardian *Some of his [Coleridge's] poems are indisputably great, and the greatest is probably 'The Rime of the Ancient Mariner' * Daily Telegraph *The greatest sea poem in the language -- Jonathan RabanThe Poem contains many delicate touches of passion, and indeed the passion is every where true to nature, a great number of the stanzas present beautiful images, and are expressed with unusual felicity of language; and the versification, though the metre is itself unfit for long poems, is harmonious and artfully varied, exhibiting the utmost powers of that metre, and every variety of which it is capable -- William Wordsworth
£6.99
Cornerstone A Moveable Feast
Book SynopsisPublished posthumously in 1964, A Moveable Feast remains one of Ernest Hemingway''s most beloved works. Since Hemingway''s personal papers were released in 1979, scholars have examined and debated the changes made to the text before publication. Now this new special restored edition presents the original manuscript as the author prepared it to be published. Featuring a personal foreword by Patrick Hemingway, Ernest''s sole surviving son, and an introduction by the editor and grandson of the author, Seán Hemingway, this new edition also includes a number of unfinished, never-before-published Paris sketches revealing experiences that Hemingway had with his son Jack and his first wife, Hadley. Also included are irreverent portraits of other luminaries, such as F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ford Madox Ford, and insightful recollections of his own early experiments with his craft. Sure to excite critics and readers alike, the restored edition of A Moveable Feast b
£8.54
Oxford University Press Shakespeares Comedies
Book SynopsisFrom The Two Gentlemen of Verona in the early 1590s to The Two Noble Kinsmen at the end of his career around 1614, Shakespeare wrote at least eighteen plays that can be called ''comedies'': a far higher number than that for any other genre in which he wrote. So what is a Shakespearean comedy? We associate these plays with such themes as mistaken identities, happy marriages, and exuberant cross dressing, but how representative are these of the oeuvre as a whole? In this Very Short Introduction, Bart van Es explores the full range of the playwright''s comic writing, from the neat classical plotting of early works like The Comedy of Errors to the corrupt world of the so-called problem plays, written in the middle years of Shakespeare''s life. Examining Shakespeare''s influences and sources, van Es compares his plays to those of his rivals, and looks at the history of the plays in performance, from the biographies of Shakespeare''s original actors to the plays'' endless reinvention in modern stage productions and in films. Identifying the key qualities that make Shakespearean comedy distinctive, van Es traces the changing nature of Shakespeare''s comic writing over the course of a career that spanned nearly a quarter century of theatrical change.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 ReviewAimed at a general readership, the slim volume is nonetheless carefully researched and full of original ideas and connections. * Kevin Curran, Studies in English Literature 1500-1900 *cover[s] an impressive amount of literary and historical ground, and convey[s] a suitably sizeable serving of Shakespeare knowledge. * Shakespeare Magazine *Table of ContentsIntroduction ; World ; Wit ; Love ; Time ; Character ; Endings ; Further Reading ; Index
£9.49
Oxford University Press Teenage Writings
Book SynopsisThe young Jane Austen was a precocious reader, devouring pulp fiction and classic literature, both of which she soon began to imitate and parody. Three volumes of her vivacious teenage writing survive. Devices and themes which appear subtly in her later fiction run riot here: drunkenness, brawling, sexual misdemeanour, theft, and even murder.Trade Review...a brilliantly readable [edition]...What is often most engaging and amusing about this bravura writing is Austen's un-restrained comic mayhem. * Francis O'Gorman, Reviews31.co.uk *Professor Kathryn Sutherland and University Lecturer Freya Johnston skilfully edit this fascinating collection of Austen's early teenage writings ... This new edition provides fresh readings of individual texts, and the explanatory notes accompanying them offer to expand our sense of what the young Austen might have been reading and responding to at the time. * Reader's Digest *Table of ContentsVOLUME THE FIRST; VOLUME THE SECOND; VOLUME THE THIRD; FAMILY CONTINUATIONS TO VOLUME THE THIRD; APPENDIX
£9.49
Oxford University Press The Tragic Imagination The Literary Agenda
Book SynopsisRowan Williams explores the definition of the tragic as a mode of narrative, in this short and thought-provoking volume. He turns to subjects including the role of irony in tragedy, the relationship between tragedy and political as well as religious rhetoric, common ground between tragedy and comedy, and the complex place of theology in the debate.Trade ReviewThere are insights and humane wisdom to be found on every page of Williams's study ... As Williams's incisive readings suggest, great tragedies can yield crucial moral knowledge. Preparing oneself to receive this knowledge, though, likely requires an imagination formed by other liturgies. Even then, perhaps, to watch a tragedy is to undertake a risk that promises no certain insight. * Steven Knepper, Commonweal Magazine *The Tragic Imagination proves rewarding. Williams offers intelligent - and not straighforwardly theological - readings of Madea, Antigone, King Lear, Othello, and modern plays by Sarah Kane and Edward Bond. * Clare Carlisle, Times Literary Supplement *Table of ContentsIntroduction 1: Handling danger: the political roots of tragedy 2: Acknowledgement and hiddenness: what does tragedy make us know? 3: Reconciliation and its discontents: thinking with Hegel 4: Absolute tragedy and moral extremity 5: Tragedy against pessimism: religious discourse and tragic drama 6: Conclusions
£22.32
St. Martin's Griffin The Complete Tolkien Companion
Book SynopsisFor all those who journey to Middle Earth, here is the complete guide to its lands, legends, histories, languages, and people. The Complete Tolkien Companion explains, translates, and links every single referencenames, dates, places, facts, famous weapons, even food and drinkto be found in J. R. R. Tolkien''s world, which includes not only The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings but also The Simarillion and many other posthumously published works. A detailed explanation of the various Elvish writing systems, together with maps, charts, and genealogical tables, bring the remarkable genius of Tolkien and the unforgettable world and wonder of Middle Earth to life with focus and accuracy. First published in 1976, this is an indispensable accompaniment for anyone who embarks on the reading journey of a lifetime.
£19.99
Pearson Education Elements of Style The
Book SynopsisTable of ContentsFOREWORD. INTRODUCTION. I.ELEMENTARY RULES OF USAGE. 1.Form the Possessive Singular of Nouns by Adding 's. 2.In a Series of Three or More Terms with a Single Conjunction, Use a Comma after Each Term except the Last. 3.Enclose Parenthetic Expressions between Commas. 4.Place a Comma before a Conjunction Introducing an Independent Clause. 5.Do Not Join Independent Clauses with a Comma. 6.Do Not Break Sentences in Two. 7.Use a Colon after an Independent Clause to Introduce a List of Particulars, an Appositive, an Amplification, or an Illustrative Question. 8.Use a Dash to Set Off an Abrupt Break or Interruption and to Announce a Long Appositive or Summary. 9.The Number of the Subject Determines the Number of the Verb. 10.Use the Proper Case of Pronoun. 11.A Participial Phrase at the Beginning of the Sentence Must Refer to the Grammatical Subject. II.ELEMENTARY PRINCIPLES OF COMPOSITION. 12.Choose a Suitable Sesign and Hold to It. 13.Make the Paragraph the unit of Composition. 14.Use the Active Voice. 15.Put Statements in Positive Form. 16.Use Definite, Specific, Concrete Language. 17.Omit Needless Words. 18.Avoid a Succession of Loose Sentences. 19.Express Coordinate Ideas in Similar Form. 20.Keep Related Words Together. 21.In Summaries, Keep to One Tense. 22.Place the Emphatic Words of a Sentence at the End. III.A FEW MATTERS OF FORM. IV.WORDS AND EXPRESSIONS COMMONLY MISUSED. V.AN APPROACH TO STYLE (WITH A LIST OF REMINDERS). 1.Place Yourself in the Background. 2.Write in a Way That Comes Naturally. 3.Work From a Suitable Style. 4.Write with Nouns and Verbs. 5.Revise and Rewrite. 6.Do Not Overwrite. 7.Do Not Overstate. 8.Avoid the Use of Qualifiers. 9.Do Not Affect a Breezy Manner. 10.Use Orthodox Spelling. 11.Do Not Explain Too Much. 12.Do Not Construct Awkward Adverbs. 13.Make Sure the Reader Knows Who is Speaking. 14.Avoid Fancy Words. 15.Do Not Use Dialect Unless Your Ear Is Good. 16.Be Clear. 17.Do Not Inject Opinion. 18.Use Figures of Speech Sparingly. 19.Do Not Take Shortcuts at the Cost of Clarity. 20.Avoid Foreign Languages. 21.Prefer the Standard to the Offbeat. Afterword. Glossary.
£19.47
Oxford University Press Inc Anne Carson
Book Synopsis
£22.99
Cambridge University Press Skills for Effective Writing Level 2 Students
Book SynopsisSkills for Effective Writing teaches these skills, such as avoiding run-ons and using transition words, and offers extensive practice opportunities. When students master discrete skills, all of their writing improves. This allows teachers to focus their time and feedback on the content of student work.
£30.25
Cambridge University Press Skills for Effective Writing Level 3 Students
Book SynopsisSkills for Effective Writing teaches these skills, such as coherence and using sources, and offers extensive practice opportunities. When students master discrete skills, all of their writing improves. This allows teachers to focus their time and feedback on the content of student work.
£30.25
Cambridge University Press Pride and Prejudice
Book SynopsisFirst published in 1813, and Austen's most popular novel in her own lifetime, Pride and Prejudice has since been widely recognised as one of the finest novels in the English language. This edition, first published in 2006, is an indispensable resource for all scholars and readers of Austen.Table of ContentsGeneral Editor's preface; Acknowledgments; Chronology; Introduction; Note on the text; Pride and Prejudice; Appendices; Emendations; Abbreviations; Explanatory notes.
£20.99
HarperCollins The Western Canon
Book Synopsis
£17.77
Fourthwall Books Nagmusiek
Book Synopsis
£43.35
Cambridge University Press Stesichorus The Poems Cambridge Classical Texts and Commentaries Book 54
Book SynopsisThis edition of Stesichorus is the first full-scale treatment that this important ancient Greek poet has ever received. Presenting a newly constituted text and apparatus, it takes full advantage of recent manuscript discoveries and developments of scholarship to analyse his work and to assess its poetic value and historical significance.Trade Review'A work of truly formidable scholarship … it is hard to see how it will ever be superseded … Cambridge University Press must also be congratulated on a production of the very highest standard.' Colin Leach, Classics For All (classicsforallreviews.wordpress.com)'The rich work of Davies and Finglass … is very thoroughly researched, as it is to be expected from such distinguished editors … The sections on mythological traditions are particularly rich, devoting plentiful space to literary and visual testimonies … This is a very substantial and serious work, making for the first time available all the fragments with a critical edition and full scale commentary. Anyone interested in Greek literature and culture should be grateful to the editors for their endeavour.' G. B. D'Alessio, Bryn Mawr Classical Review'[In] this extensive and outstanding work … Davies and Finglass engage in a meticulous effort aimed at disentangling the multiple complexities that surround Stesichorus, a lyric poet shrouded in the mist of time and myth … Davies and Finglass offer an elegant and panoramic view of Stesichorus' poetry in time and space, justifying his fame and merit. This work is of a high calibre, and deserves warm commendation.' E. Tsitsibakou-Vasalos, Classical Review'This work will be an indispensable tool for anyone reading Stesichorus at any level of proficiency.' D. T. Benediktson, Exemplaria ClassicaTable of ContentsIntroduction; Text and critical apparatus; Commentary.
£153.90
Cambridge University Press The Salon of Madame Necker
Book SynopsisSuzanne Curchod (173794) married Jacques Necker (17321804), later the finance minister of Louis XVI, in 1764; their daughter was Madame de Staël. This biography, written by a descendant, the comte d'Haussonville, and published in 1882, describes her life and her brilliant salon in pre-Revolutionary France.Table of Contents1. Madame Necker's journal; 2. The girlhood and early years of Germaine Necker; 3. The marriage; 4. M. Necker's first term of office life; 5. The General Control Office; 6. The salon in the Rue Bergère; 7. M. Necker a second time in office; 8. The history of Coppet; 9. Coppet during the Revolution; 10. Madame Necker's last years; Index.
£24.99
The University of Chicago Press Victorian Sensation
Book SynopsisWhen Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation was published anonymously in 1844, it sparked one of the greatest sensations of the Victorian era. The author uses the story of Vestiges to create a panoramic portrait of life in the early industrial era from the view of its readers.
£28.00
Cornerstone Georgette Heyer Biography
Book Synopsis_________________________The perfect accompaniment to the definitive new editions of Georgette Heyer''s celebrated novels that are currently being reissued.A remarkable biography of one of Britain''s best-loved and best-selling novelists, ''the queen of Regency romance''.Georgette Heyer remains an enduring international bestseller, read and loved by four generations of readers and extolled by today''s bestselling authors. Despite her enormous popularity she never gave an interview or appeared in public. Georgette Heyer wrote her first novel, The Black Moth, when she was seventeen in order to amuse her convalescent brother. It was published in 1921 to instant success and it has never been out of print. A phenomenon even in her own lifetime, to this day she is the undisputed queen of regency romance. During ten years of research into Georgette Heyer''s life and writing, Jennifer Kloester has had unlimited access toTrade ReviewAn engaging portrait of a novelist beloved of four generations. A must for those wishing to explore the life of the queen of Regency romance. * Daily Express, 4/5 stars *All lovers of the great Heyer, inventor of the Regency Romance, will love this superb biography of a very private woman. * Saga magazine *Jennifer Kloester’s book is an exhaustive and detailed biography which is quite as gripping as The Regency Buck or The Corinthian. Recognition at last. * Country Life *This should be read on creative-writing courses everywhere. * Sunday Times *A compelling study of a fascinating life. Jennifer Kloester has opened the door on one of the most private literary icons of the past century, one whose works made and continue to make a lasting impression on readers worldwide. Meticulously researched and supported, Kloester's study is both sympathetic and exact, and paints a finely detailed portrait of the woman behind the books. An engaging, intriguing, absorbing read - history is rarely this entertaining! -- Stephanie Laurens, #1 New York Times bestselling historical romance author
£11.69
Yale University Press Tactics and the Experience of Battle in the Age
Book SynopsisDrawing on contemporary memoirs, diaries and letters, this book explores what actually happened in battle in Napoleonic times and how the participants' feelings and reactions influenced the outcome.Trade Review"A stunning evocation of campaigning and battle, presented largely in the words of the participants, and enhanced by Muir's huge...knowledge of his subject." Toby Buchan, Literary Review "A major work." David Seymour, Military Illustrated "An important and useful study." Jeremy Black, Archives "Muir has filled an important gap in the study of the Napoleonic era with this engaging study of the mechanics of a Napoleonic battle." Library Journal
£19.00
Cornerstone A Moveable Feast
Book SynopsisErnest Miller Hemingway was born in Chicago in 1899 as the son of a doctor and the second of six children. After a stint as an ambulance driver at the Italian front, Hemingway came home to America in 1919, only to return to the battlefield this time as a reporter on the Greco-Turkish war in 1922. Resigning from journalism to focus on his writing instead, he moved to Paris where he renewed his earlier friendship with fellow American expatriates such as Ezra Pound and Gertrude Stein. Through the years, Hemingway travelled widely and wrote avidly, becoming an internationally recognized literary master of his craft. He received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1954, following the publication of The Old Man and the Sea. He died in 1961.Trade ReviewReading A Moveable Feast is a little like sitting down to a banquet with a host of bohemian luminaries * Observer *Here is Hemingway at his best. No one has ever written about Paris in the nineteen twenties as well as Hemingway * New York Times *The first thing to say about the 'restored' edition so ably and attractively produced by Patrick and Sean Hemingway is that it does live up to its billing . . . well worth having * The Atlantic *The Paris sketches are absolutely controlled, far enough removed in time so that the scenes and characters are observed in tranquillity, and yet with astonishing immediacy - his remarkable gift - so that many have the hard brilliance of his best fiction * New York Herald Tribune *The first thing to say about the 'restored' edition so ably and attractively produced by Patrick and Sean Hemingway is that it does live up to its billing . . . well worth having * Christopher Hitchens, "The Atlantic" *
£8.54
Oxford University Press Shakespeares Tragedies
Book SynopsisTragedy, including grief, pain and suffering, is a common theme in Shakespeare''s plays, often leading to the death of at least one character, if not several. Yet such themes can also be found in Shakespearian plays which are classed as comedies, or histories. What is it which makes a Shakespearian tragedy, and what dramatic themes and conventions did the bard draw upon when writing them?In this Very Short Introduction Stanley Wells considers what is meant by the word ''tragedy'', and discusses nine of Shakespeare''s iconic tragic plays. He explores how the early definitions and theoretical discussions of the concept of tragedy in Shakespeare''s time would have influenced these plays, along with the literary influence of Seneca. Wells also considers Shakespeare''s uses of the word ''tragedy'' itself, analysing whether he had any overall concept of the genre in relation to the drama, and looking at the ways in which the theatrical conventions of his time shaped his plays, such as the use of boy players in women''s roles and the physical structures of the playhouses. Offering a critical analysis of each of the nine plays in turn, Wells concludes by discussing why tragedy is regarded as fit subject for entertainment, and what it is about tragic plays that audiences find so enjoyable.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 Review... probably never - against the backdrop of so much literary, and other noise, today - has there ever been a greater need for short summaries of such works in an attempt to reach new audiences. So, from King Lear, to Antony and Cleopatra to Macbeth and Hamlet, et. al, the rudiments of all ten tragedies are condensed into just half a dozen pocket-sized pages each. Probably not for the connoiseur but much more likely for reluctant newbies still mystified by all the fuss. * Screentrade Magazine *cover[s] an impressive amount of literary and historical ground, and convey[s] a suitably sizeable serving of Shakespeare knowledge. * Shakespeare Magazine *Table of ContentsINTRODUCTION; REFERENCES; FURTHER READING; INDEX
£9.49
Oxford University Press Sybil
Book SynopsisSybil, or The Two Nations is one of the finest novels to depict the social problems of class-ridden Victorian England. The book''s publication in 1845 created a sensation, for its immediacy and readability brought the plight of the working classes sharply to the attention of the reading public. The ''two nations'' of the alternative title are the rich and poor, so disparate in their opportunities and living conditions, and so hostile to each other. that they seem almost to belong to different countries. The gulf between them is given a poignant focus by the central romantic plot concerning the love of Charles Egremont, a member of the landlord class, for Sybil, the poor daughter of a militant Chartist leader.Trade Reviewperfect timing for this new edition ... with a brilliant introduction that throws fresh light on Disraeli's views, explains the novel's culutural roots and defends its place as an accomplished work of fiction in its own right * The Lady *Table of ContentsIntroduction Note on the Text Select Bibliography Chronology SYBIL Explanatory Notes
£11.39
Oxford University Press Cousin Phillis and Other Stories
Book SynopsisThis representative selection includes five tales of very different kinds written in the 1850s and the longer Cousin Phillis. Immensely readable and sophisticated works of art, they show Gaskell's mastery of the genre, in an edition that celebrates her achievements in shorter fiction and the context in which they first appeared.Table of ContentsLizzie Leigh ; Morton Hall ; My French Master ; Half a Life-Time Ago ; The Manchester Marriage ; Cousin Phillis
£8.99
Oxford University Press Narratives and Narrators
Book SynopsisNarratives are artefacts of a special kind: they are intentionally crafted devices which fulfil their story-telling function by manifesting the intentions of their makers. But narrative itself is too inclusive a category for much more to be said about it than this; we should focus attention instead on the vaguely defined but interesting category of things rich in narrative structure. Such devices offer significant possibilities, not merely for the representation of stories, but for the expression of point of view; they have also played an important role in the evolution of reliable communication. Narratives and narrators argues that much of the pleasure of narrative communication depends on deep-seated and early developing tendencies in human beings to imitation and to joint attention, and imitation turns out to be the key to understanding such important literary techniques as free indirect discourse and character-focused narration. The book also examines irony in narrative, with an emTrade ReviewRich with examples drawn from both literature and film ... the book makes an interesting and important contribution not only to our understanding of the nature of narratives but also to the nature of our engagement with them. * Amy Kind, The Philosophical Quarterly *a rich study. * Adriana Boneta, Year's Work in Critical and Cultural Theory *abounds in analyses and arguments as Currie identifies and interrogates (generally successfully) strong counter-theses that challenge his own * Daniel D. Hutto, Times Literary Supplement *I expect Gregory Currie's new book, Narratives and Narrators, to attain the same importance and influence in philosophical thinking about narrative that his earlier books The Nature of Fiction and Image and Mind have had in the philosophy of fiction and film, respectively. It is an ambitious, careful, and philosophically rich work containing a number of novel and important arguments... The book has many virtues, and the greatest of them might be that it opens up new areas for exploration in the philosophic study of narrative. * James Harold, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews *The book is ambitious in its topics and contains fresh approaches to various traditional problems ... full of thought-provoking arguments and intriguing proposals. * Jukka Mikkonen, Mind *This fairly short book does a lot of work ... consistently challenging * Raphael Lyne, Cambridge Quarterly *Table of ContentsPreface ; Acknowledgements ; Analytical contents ; 1. Representation ; 2. The content of narrative ; 3. Two ways of looking at a narrative ; 4. Authors and narrators ; 5. Expression and imitation ; 6. Resistance ; 7. Character-focused narration ; 8. Irony: a pretended point of view ; 9. Dis-interpretation ; 10. Narrative and character ; 11. Character scepticism ; In Conclusion ; Bibliography ; Indexes
£70.40
Palgrave Macmillan Richard III The RSC Shakespeare
Book SynopsisJONATHAN BATE is Professor of Shakespeare and Renaissance Literature, University of Warwick, UK, and the editor of The RSC Shakespeare: The Complete Works. He has held visiting posts at Harvard, Yale and UCLA and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, a Fellow of the British Academy, an Honorary Fellow of St Catherine's College, Cambridge, and a Governor and Board member of the Royal Shakespeare Company. A prominent critic, award-winning biographer and broadcaster, he is the author of several books on Shakespeare, including The Genius of Shakespeare (Picador), which was praised by Sir Peter Hall, founder of the RSC, as the best modern book on Shakespeare. In June 2006 he was awarded a CBE by HM The Queen 'for services to Higher Education'. ERIC RASMUSSEN is Professor of English at the University of Nevada, USA, and the Textual Editor of The RSC Shakespeare: The Complete Works. He is co-editor of the Norton Anthology of English Renaissance Drama and has edited volumes in both t
£8.54
Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group Negotiating with the Dead
Book SynopsisFrom the bestselling author of The Handmaid''s Tale and The Testaments: A clear-eyed glance into the shadows where writers work and live.” —The Washington Post Book WorldIn this wise and irresistibly quotable book, one of the most intelligent writers now working in English addresses the riddle of her art: why people pursue it, how they view their calling, and what bargains they make with their audiences, both real and imagined. To these fascinating issues Margaret Atwood brings a candid appraisal of her own experience as well as a breadth of reading that encompasses everything from Dante to Elmore Leonard. An ambitious artistic inquiry conducted with unpretentious charm, Negotiating with the Dead is an invaluable insider’s view of the writer’s universe.
£14.64
Random House USA Inc Risking Everything
Book Synopsis“Listen, are you breathing just a little, and calling it a life?” —Mary OliverThis luminous anthology brings together great poets from around the world whose work transcends culture and time. Their words reach past the outer divisions to the universal currents of love and revelation that move and inspire us all. These poems urge us to wake up and love. They also call on us to relinquish our grip on ideas and opinions that confine us and, instead, to risk moving forward into the life that is truly ours.In his selection, Roger Housden has placed strong emphasis on contemporary voices such as the American poet laureate Billy Collins and the Nobel Prize-winners Czeslaw Milosz and Seamus Heaney, but the collection also includes some timeless echoes of the past in the form of work by masters such as Goethe, Wordsworth, and Emily Dickinson.The tens of thousands of readers of Roger Housden’s “Ten Poems” series will welcome this beautiful harvest of poems that both open the mind and heal the heart.
£16.80
Oxford University Press David Copperfield
Book SynopsisTrade ReviewIntroduction and notes by Andrew Sanders facilitated a proper understanding of period details and plot structure. I will continue to use this edition in future classes on Dickens's novels. * Helge Nowak, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universtitaet *
£8.54
Oxford University Press A Christmas Carol and Other Christmas Books
Book Synopsis''What was merry Christmas to Scrooge? Out upon merry Christmas! What good had it ever done to him?''Ebenezer Scrooge is a bad-tempered skinflint who hates Christmas and all it stands for, but a ghostly visitor foretells three apparitions who will thaw Scrooge''s frozen heart. A Christmas Carol has gripped the public imagination since it was first published in 1843, and it is now as much a part of Christmas as mistletoe or plum pudding. This edition reprints the story alongside Dickens''s four other Christmas Books: The Chimes, The Cricket on the Hearth, The Battle of Life, and The Haunted Man. All five stories show Dickens at his unpredictable best, jumbling together comedy and melodrama, genial romance and urgent social satire, in pursuit of his aim ''to awaken some loving and forbearing thoughts, never out of season in a Christian land''. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World''s Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordTable of ContentsA Christmas Carol ; The Chimes ; The Cricket on the Hearth ; The Battle of Life ; The Haunted Man
£7.59
Oxford University Press La Reine Margot
Book SynopsisLa Reine Margot (1845) is a novel of suspense and drama, re-creating the violent world of intrigue, murder and duplicity of the French Renaissance. Dumas fills his canvas with a gallery of unforgettable characters, unremitting action and the engaging generosity of spirit which has made him one of the world's greatest and best-loved story-tellers. This is a modernized version of a classic translation of 1846 by the award-winning translator, DavidCoward.
£9.49
Oxford University Press The Story of an African Farm Oxford Worlds
Book SynopsisLyndall, Schreiner''s articulate young feminist, marks the entry of the controversial New Woman into nineteenth-century fiction. Raised as an orphan amid a makeshift family, she witnesses an intolerable world of colonial exploitation. Desiring a formal education, she leaves the isolated farm for boarding school in her early teens, only to return four years later from an unhappy relationship. Unable to meet the demands of her mysterious lover, Lyndall retires to a house in Bloemfontein, where, delirious with exhaustion, she is unknowingly tended by an English farmer disguised as her female nurse. This is the devoted Gregory Rose, Schreiner''s daring embodiment of the sensitive New Man. A cause célèbre when it appeared in London, The Story of an African Farm transformed the shape and course of the late-Victorian novel. From the haunting plains of South Africa''s high Karoo, Schreiner boldly addresses her society''s greatest fears - the loss of faith, the dissolution of marriage, and women''s social and political independence. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World''s Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford''s commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.
£9.49
Oxford University Press Trilby
Book Synopsis''You shall see nothing, hear nothing, think of nothing but Svengali, Svengali, Svengali!'' First published in 1894, the story of the diva Trilby O''Ferrall and her mesmeric mentor, Svengali, has entered the mythology of the time alongside Dracula and Sherlock Holmes. Immensely popular for a number of years, the novel led to a hit play, a series of popular films, and the trilby hat. The setting of the story reflects the author''s bohemian years as an art student in Paris; indeed James McNeill Whistler was to recognize himself in one of the early serialized instalments. George Du Maurier was a celebrated caricaturist for Punch magazine and his drawings for the novel form part of its appeal - this edition includes his most significant illustrations. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World''s Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford''s commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus Trade ReviewA captivating, strange and evocative story that brings to life 1850s bohemian Paris. * The Sunday Telegraph *
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Oxford University Press What Maisie Knew
Book SynopsisWhat Maisie Knew (1897) represents one of James''s finest reflections on the rites of passage from wonder to knowledge, and the question of their finality. The child of violently divorced parents, Maisie Farange opens her eyes on a distinctly modern world. Mothers and fathers keep changing their partners and names, while she herself becomes the pretext for all sorts of adult sexual intrigue. In this classic tale of the death of childhood, there is a savage comedy that owes much to Dickens. But for his portrayal of the child''s capacity for intelligent `wonder'', James summons all the subtlety he devotes elsewhere to his most celebrated adult protagonists. Neglected and exploited by everyone around her, Maisie inspires James to dwell with extraordinary acuteness on the things that may pass between adult and child. In addition to a new introduction, this edition of the novel offers particularly detailed notes, bibliography, and a list of variant readings. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100
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Oxford University Press The Diary of a Nobody
Book Synopsis`Why should I not publish my diary? I have often seen reminiscences of people I have never even heard of, and I fail to see - because I do not happen to be a `Somebody'' - why my diary should not be interesting.''The Diary of a Nobody (1892) created a cultural icon, an English archetype. Anxious, accident-prone, occasionally waspish, Charles Pooter has come to be seen as the epitome of English suburban life. His diary chronicles encounters with difficult tradesmen, the delights of home improvements, small parties, minor embarrassments, and problems with his troublesome son. The suburban world he inhabits is hilariously and painfully familiar in its small-mindedness and its essential decency. Both celebration and critique, The Diary of a Nobody has often been imitated, but never bettered. This edition features Weedon Grossmith''s hilarious illustrations and is complemented by an enjoyable introduction discussing the book''s social background and suburban fiction as a genre. ABOUT THE SE
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Oxford University Press Anthony and Cleopatra The Oxford Shakespeare
Book SynopsisIn its towering central characters, vast geographical and historical sweep, and its variety of style and mood, Anthony and Cleopatra is perhaps the most ambitious of Shakespeare''s designs. Yet the degree and nature of its success remain surprisingly contentious, and performances of the play have seldom matched the extravagant expectations of its admirers. Michael Neill''s wide-ranging introduction from a number of angles, including those of gender and race. He examines the sources and discusses the theatrical challenge presented by Shakespeare''s technique, with its extraordinary tensions between rhetoric and action. A full stage history further illustrates its theatrical fortunes; both here and in the extensive commentary this edition illuminates the play''s theatrical dimensions as well as the rich complexity of its poetic language. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World''s Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable Trade Review'Stanley Wells' OUP Complete Works of Shakespeare is now eight years old and has spawned a new Oxford Shakespeare which appears now in splendidly affordable volumes in that nonpareil of libraries of good reading The World's Classics.' The Oxford Times
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Oxford University Press Fathers and Sons
Book SynopsisTurgenev's masterpiece about the conflict between generations is as fresh, outspoken, and exciting today as it was in when it was first published in 1862.
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Oxford University Press Much Ado About Nothing The Oxford Shakespeare
Book SynopsisSparkling with the witty dialogue between Beatrice and Benedicts, Much Ado About Nothing is one of Shakespeare''s most enjoyable and theatrically successful comedies.This edition offers a newly edited text and an exceptionally helpful and critically aware introduction. Paying particular attention to analysis of the play''s minor characters, Sheldon P Zitner discusses Shakespeare''s transformation of his source material. He rethinks the attitudes to gender relations that underlie the comedy and determine its view of marriage.Allowing for the play''s openness to reinterpretation by successive generations of readers and peformers, Zitner provides a socially analytic stage history, advancing new views for the actor as much as for the critic. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World''s Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford''s commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth o
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Oxford University Press The Iliad
Book Synopsis''Fitzgerald has solved virtually every problem that has plagued translators of Homer.'' Atlantic Monthly The Iliad is the story of a few days'' fighting in the tenth year of the legendary war between the Greeks and the Trojans, which broke out when Paris, son of King Priam of Troy, abducted the fabulously beautiful Helen, wife of King Menelaus of Sparta. After a quarrel between the Greek commander, Agamemnon, and the greatest of the Greek warriors, Achilles, the gods become more closely involved in the action. Their intervention leads to the tragic death of Hector, the Trojan leader, and to the final defeat of the Trojans. But the Iliad is much more than a series of battle scenes. It is a work of extraordinary pathos and profundity that concerns itself with issues as fundamental as the meaning of life and death. Even the heroic ethic itself - with its emphasis on pride, honour, prowess in battle, and submission to the inexorable will of the gods - is not left unquestioned. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World''s Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford''s commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.Trade Review'Fitzgerald has solved virtually every problem that has plagued translators of Homer.' Atlantic Monthly
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Oxford University Press Loves Labours Lost The Oxford Shakespeare
Book SynopsisLove''s Labour''s Lost, now recognized as one of the most delightful and stageworthy of Shakespeare''s comedies, came into its own both on the stage and in critical esteem only during the 1930s and 1940s, after three hundred years of neglect by the theatre and undervaluation and misuse by critics. The Introduction to this new edition pays particular attention to this process of rehabilitation. The text, based on the quarto of 1598 and taking full account of the extensive scholarly study that text has received over recent years, rests on the hypothesis that the quarto goes back, probably by way of `lost'' quarto, to an authorial manuscript representing the play in a state prior to `fair copy''. If this is so, the quarto takes on a special significance because through it we can watch Shakespeare in the act of composition, improvising, changing his mind, and revising as his play develops under his hand. The editor offers a number of new readings of difficult and disputed passages, togetheTrade Review`Hibbard lucidly expounds the intricately patterned structure of his play ... and he dispatches the largely distracting question of its 'topicality' with heartening promptness.' English Studies, Volume 72, Number 6, December 1991`This Oxford text of Love's Labour's Lost is lucidly informative, scrupulous but concise,. and in general a model of restrained and level-headed editing.' Cedric Watts, University of Sussex, Review of English Studies, Vol. 43, 8/92'Stanley Wells' OUP Complete Works of Shakespeare is now eight years old and has spawned a new Oxford Shakespeare which appears now in splendidly affordable volumes in that nonpareil of libraries of good reading The World's Classics.' The Oxford TimesTable of ContentsList of illustrations; Introduction; The Play; The Date and `Sources'; The Text; Editorial Procedures; Abbreviations and references; Love's Labour's Lost; Appendix A: Two `False Starts'; Appendix B: Alterations to lineation; Appendix C: The music for `The Hit It'; Appendix D: The name of Armado's page; Index
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Oxford University Press Pericles
Book SynopsisThe Oxford ShakespeareGeneral Editor: Stanley WellsThe Oxford Shakespeare offers authoritative texts from leading scholars in editions designed to interpret and illuminate the plays for modern readers- The only single-volume, modern-spelling edition both to offer a reconstruction of the original play and to reproduce the corrupt Quarto text of 1609 exactly as first printed- On-page commentary and notes explains meaning, staging, language, and allusions- Detailed introduction explains the complex textual situation and Shakespeare''s probable collaboration with George Wilkins- Illustrated with production photographs and related art- Full index to introduction and commentary- Durable sewn binding for lasting use''not simply a better text but a new conception of Shakespeare. This is a major achievement of twentieth-century scholarship'' ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World''s Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volu
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Oxford University Press Germinal
Book SynopsisZola''s masterpiece of working life, Germinal (1885), exposes the inhuman conditions of miners in northern France in the 1860s. By Zola''s death in 1902 it had come to symbolise the call for freedom from oppression so forcefully that the crowd which gathered at his State funeral chanted ''Germinal! Germinal!''.The central figure, Etienne Lantier, is an outsider who enters the community and eventually leads his fellow-miners in a strike protesting against pay-cuts - a strike which becomes a losing battle against starvation, repression, and sabotage. Yet despite all the violence and disillusion which rock the mining community to its foundations, Lantier retains his belief in the ultimate germination of a new society, leading to a better world. Germinal is a dramatic novel of working life and everyday relationships, but it is also a complex novel of ideas, given fresh vigour and power in this new translation. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World''s Classics has made availableTrade Review'masterpiece' Oxford Times'A good translator uses the language of his day; the original text remains fixed, but translations must move with the times. Collier's, though differing from, and not always improving on, Tancock's, is likely to have the same startling effect on the reader coming fresh to it today as his prdecessor's had forty years ago.' F.W.J. Hemmings, French Studies, Vol. 48, Part 4
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Oxford University Press King John The Oxford Shakespeare
Book SynopsisKing John, a play that offers at least three fine acting roles and was once popular in the theatre, has been neglected in recent years. Its treatment of the death of Arthur, claimant to the throne, and the wit of the Bastard, son of Richard Coeur de Lion, make it particularly worthy of reconsideration. The wide-ranging introduction makes original claims for the play''s relevance to Elizabethan political issues and for its aesthetic importance in Shakespeare''s early career as a dramatist. This edition also offers a comprehensive stage history, a thorough bibliographical study of the Folio (1623) text, and a reconsideration of its disputed relationship with the anonymous Troublesome Reign of King John (1591). A.R. Braunmuller provides new information concerning King John''s early stage history, consideration of legal concepts and practices in the play, and a critical study of its presentation of women and of families.Trade Review`The Oxford Shakespeare is an admirably scholarly edition, immaculately presented, offering close attention to possibilities of staging as well as meaning.' Dr D. Sedge, Exeter University`This edition offers the most substantial & one of the most penetrating discussions of the play to date. A remarkable scholarly achievement.' Dr René J.A. Weis, Department of English, University College, London`a most impressive and illuminating edition' R. N. Alexander, Queen Mary Westfield, London`The major strength of Professor Braunmuller's edition is its introduction. He offers a sane review of such difficult questions as the date of the play, and such controversial ones as its relation to "The Troublesome Reign". The evidence is marshalled in a lucid manner and sensible conclusions drawn ... This is a significant contribution to the (now quickly developing) debate on "King John", and a good demonstration that investigations of Shakespeare as a political dramatist (as opposed to a moral sage) need not be critically reductive.' The Review of English Studies`By its 'conventionally ordered introduction' (p.1), A.R. Braunmuller's Oxford King John signals that it is, indeed what the dustjacket claims, 'the most thorough scholarly edition now available' ... his edition foregrounds technical material important to scholars over more general interests ... Braunmuller's approach to editing is as fair-minded and scholarly as his introduction ... the King John that sets out the issues most fully and fairly, the edition I want in my study, is Braunmuller's 'conventionally ordered', scholarly text.' Virginia Mason Vaughan, Clark University, Worcester, Massachusetts, Yearbook of English Studies, 1992'Stanley Wells' OUP Complete Works of Shakespeare is now eight years old and has spawned a new Oxford Shakespeare which appears now in splendidly affordable volumes in that nonpareil of libraries of good reading The World's Classics.' The Oxford Times
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Oxford University Press The Man in the Iron Mask
Book Synopsis
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Oxford University Press Four Major Plays
Book Synopsis`I have made a terrible discovery ... I have not yet been born ... I live off borrowed substance; what I have within me is not mine.'' In his four last plays Federico García Lorca offered his disturbed and disturbing personal vision to Spanish audiences of the 1930s - unready, as he thought them, for the sexual frankness and surreal expression of his more experimental work. The ill-fated lovers of Blood Wedding, the desolate Yerma, the fading spinster Rosita, and Bernarda Alba''s abused household of women all inhabit a familiar Andalusia. Their predicaments are starkly plotted, with a stagecraft rooted in classical theatrical tradition. In such figures Lorca addresses the cultural and political ferment of his time with a fiercely libertarian assault on ''old and wrong moralities'', fusing the personal and the political through his virtuoso mastery of images. Yet all that mastery can barely keep at bay the anguished contradictions of these doomed human lives. Hence the authentic sense of danger - the duende, to use his own word of Lorca''s theatre, finely conveyed here in John Edmunds''s fluent and rhythmic new translations that lend themselves admirably to performance. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World''s Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford''s commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.Trade ReviewHis versions are accurate ... faithful ... fluent and idiomatic; they look like utterances of English ... Readers can be sure that the texts will not lead them astray, but they will also be grateful for the quite excellent introductory essay by Nick Round. This is a characteristically gritty display of erudition and common sense ... extremely well-prepared edition. * Times Literary Supplement *Table of ContentsBlood Wedding ; Yerma ; The House of Bernada ; Dona Rosita the Spinster
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