Literary studies: fiction Books

Book SynopsisEven though Charlotte Bronte uses fictional names, it is possible to roughly locate the places she so vividly describes in her beloved novel from 1847. This illustrated map shows the places Jane Eyre visits and it also features an illustrated map of the novel's main characters.?Contains an illustrated map, not the full text. A3-format, folded to A6-format. Printed on recycled paper.

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Book SynopsisSnort up Cocaine Nights. It's disorientating, deranging and knocks the work of other avant-garde writers into a hatted cock' Will SelfFive people die in an unexplained house fire in the Spanish resort of Estrella de Mar, an exclusive enclave for the rich, retired British, centred on the thriving Club Nautico. The club manager, Frank Prentice, pleads guilty to charges of murder yet not even the police believe him. When his Charles arrives to unravel the truth, he gradually discovers that behind the resort's civilized façade flourishes a secret world of crime, drugs and illicit sex.At once an engrossing mystery and a novel of ideas, Cocaine Nights' is a stunningly original work, a vision of a society coming to terms with a life of almost unlimited leisure.This edition is part of a new commemorative series of Ballard's works, featuring introductions from a number of his admirers (including Neil Gaiman, Zadie Smith, John Lanchester and Martin Amis) and brand-new cover designs.Trade Review‘Utterly compulsive’ Sunday Telegraph ‘Snort up “Cocaine Nights”. It’s disorientating, deranging and knocks the work of other avant-garde writers into a hatted cock’ Will Self ‘The possessor of a terrifying and exhilarating imagination – and a national treasure’ Guardian ‘Guaranteed to keep you reading into the early hours’ Sunday Times ‘Thrillingly wired … dazzlingly original’ Independent ‘The terrifying thing about Ballard is his logic; is this science fiction or history written ahead of its time?’ Len Deighton

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Book SynopsisDiscover everything you ever wanted to know about the world''s greatest novels.From medieval romances and tales of chivalry found in the realist novels of the 19th century, to experimental modernist works and today''s explorations of the self, Great Novels explores the finest novels from around the world and through time.Tilt at windmills with Don Quixote, experience heartbreak with Tolstoy, discover the society in which Jane Austen lived, and delve into the complex rites of passage experienced by characters in modern novels. Find out what inspired writers to create their masterpieces, what their aims were, and how they set about writing them.Dive deep into the pages of this inspiring book to discover:- Paintings, photographs, and artefacts that tell the story of each novel and what inspired their authors- Superb images of first editions and manuscripts- The flavour of each novel through quotations and extended extracts - Ch

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Book Synopsis''The men of culture are the true apostles of equality.''Matthew Arnold''s famous series of essays, which were first published in book form under the title Culture and Anarchy in 1869, debate important questions about the nature of culture and society that are as relevant now as they have ever been. Arnold seeks to find out ''what culture really is, what good it can do, what is our own special need of it'' in an age of rapid social change and increasing mechanization. He contrasts culture, ''the study of perfection'', with anarchy, the mood of unrest and uncertainty that pervaded mid-Victorian England. How can individuals be educated, not indoctrinated, and what is the role of the state in disseminating ''sweetness and light''? This edition reproduces the original book version and enables readers to appreciate its immediate historical context as well as the reasons for its continued importance today, in the face of the challenges of multi-culturalism and post-modernism. ABOUT THE SERIE

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Book SynopsisIn an updated edition of his hugely successful student introduction to English literature from 1100 to 1500, J. A. Burrow takes account of scholarly developments in the the field, most notably devoting a final chapter to the impact of historicism on medieval studies. Full of information and stimulating ideas, and a pleasure to read, Burrow''s book deals with circumstances of composition and reception, the main genres, ''modes of meaning'' (allegory etc.), and medieval literature''s afterlife in modern times. It shows that the literature of authors such as Chaucer, Gower, and Langland is more readily accessible than usually imagined, and well worth reading too. By placing medieval writers in their historical context - the four centuries between the Norman Conquest and the Renaissance - Professor Burrow explains not only how they wrote, but why.Trade ReviewThis book is the most effective introduction to Middle English literature that I know. It is everywhere alert to the ways that modern literary sensibilities need to be adjusted in order to appreciate the medieval norm, and Burrow combines astonishing learning with a pedagogical shrewdness that always picks out just the telling passage or focusing cultural fact. This second edition adds a great deal of new and equally important material to a work that had already become a classic in its own right. * Christopher Cannon, Girton College, Cambridge *Table of Contents1. The period and the literature ; 2. Writers, audiences, and readers ; 3. Major genres ; 4. Modes of meaning ; 5. The afterlife of Middle English literature ; Notes ; Bibliography

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Book SynopsisElizabeth Bennet is Austen’s most liberated and appealing heroine, and Pride and Prejudice has remained over most of the past two centuries Austen’s most popular novel. The story turns on the marriage prospects of the five daughters of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet, and especially on Elizabeth’s prejudice against the proud and distant Fitzwilliam Darcy. Pride and Prejudice is a romantic comedy that has been read as conservative and feminist, reactionary and revolutionary, rooted in the time of its composition and deliberately timeless. Robert Irvine’s introduction sets the novel in the context of the literary and intellectual history of the period, dealing with such crucial background issues as class relations in Britain, female exclusion from property and power, and the impact of the French Revolution. The introduction and annotations have been expanded and updated for the new edition, and a new appendix of Austen’s juvenilia has been added.Trade Review“Robert P. Irvine’s new edition of Pride and Prejudice is a superb version of Austen’s most frequently taught novel. Broadview’s Austen editions have always been my go-to for the classroom due to their rich introductions and expansive critical apparatuses, and this edition is no exception. Irvine’s cogent and insightful introduction clarifies the novel’s contexts and intertexts for both students and scholars, but what really set this and Broadview’s other Austen editions apart are the excellence and depth of their appendices; this one includes contemporary reviews and judiciously chosen excerpts from conduct books and texts on domestic tourism, on the French Revolution, and on militia regiments, as well as selections from Austen’s letters and juvenilia, all of which richly contextualize Pride and Prejudice for twenty-first-century readers. This edition will be a valuable resource for Austen scholars at all levels, perhaps especially for students who approach the novel with limited knowledge of the period.” — Suzanne L. Barnett, Manhattan College“This is my new go-to edition of Pride and Prejudice. Robert Irvine’s introduction usefully elucidates the social, political, and literary contexts of the novel, and his illuminating explanatory notes are indispensable for today’s student. As with all Broadview Editions, a range of supplementary materials offers productive frameworks for teaching the novel and will benefit both new and veteran readers of Austen.” — Mary-Catherine Harrison, University of Detroit MercyTable of Contents Acknowledgements Introduction Jane Austen and Her Time: A Brief Chronology A Note on the Text Map Pride and Prejudice Appendix A: From the Juvenilia (1792–93) 1. From Volume the First: “The Three Sisters” 2. From Volume the Second: “From a young Lady in distress’d Circumstances to her freind” Appendix B: From Austen’s Letters to Her Sister Cassandra 1. To Cassandra Austen, 8–9 January 1799 2. To Cassandra Austen, 11 June 1799 3. To Cassandra Austen, 29 January 1813 4. To Cassandra Austen, 4 February 1813 Appendix C: Contemporary Periodical Reviews of Pride and Prejudice 1. British Critic (February 1813) 2. From Critical Review (March 1813) Appendix D: From the Conduct Books 1. From James Fordyce, Sermons to Young Women (1766) 2. From Dr. John Gregory, A Father’s Legacy to His Daughters (1774) Appendix E: Domestic Tourism 1. From William Watts, The Seats of the Nobility and Gentry (1779) 2. From William Bray, Sketch of a Tour into Derbyshire and Yorkshire (1777) Appendix F: Burke on the French Revolution1. From Edmund Burke, Reflections on the Revolution in France (1790)Appendix G: Discussion of Women’s Role after the French Revolution 1. From Mary Wollstonecraft, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman 2. From Hannah More, Strictures on the Modern System of Female Education (1799) Appendix H: The Militia Regiments on the South Coast of England in 1793–95 1. Women at the Brighton Camp, from The Sussex Weekly Advertiser (1793, 1795) 2. The Mutiny of the Oxfordshire Militia, from The Sussex Weekly Advertiser (1795) Works Cited and Select Bibliography

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Book SynopsisIn their celebration of ‘little matters’ – the regular round of visiting, dining out, drinking tea, of reading and walking to the shops and sending to the post – Jane Austen’s letters and novels have many similarities. The thirteen letters collected by Jane Austen’s House Museum, in Chawton, Hampshire and reproduced in this book give us intimate glimpses into her life in Bath and Chawton and on visits to London, many of their details finding echoes in her fiction. 'Jane Austen: The Chawton Letters' traces a lively story beginning in 1801, when, aged twenty-five, Jane Austen left Steventon in Hampshire to move to Bath. Later letters relish the shops, theatres and sights of London, but are interspersed from 1809 with the quieter routines of village life in Chawton, Hampshire, which was to be her home for the remainder of her short life. We learn here of her anxieties for the reception of Pride and Prejudice, her care in planning Mansfield Park and the hilarious negotiations over the publication of Emma. These letters, each accompanied by reproductions from the original manuscripts in Jane Austen’s hand, testify to Jane’s deep emotional bond with her sister: the most moving letter of all is that written by Cassandra only days after Jane’s death in Winchester in July 1817. Brought together in this little book, these artefacts make a delightful modern-day keepsake of correspondence from one of the world’s best-loved writers.Trade Review'Exquisitely bound and printed, with an excellent introduction by Kathryn Sutherland, this is a book that will delight any Austen reader … a real treasure that will find its way on to many a fan's bookshelf.' * Jane Austen's Regency World *Table of ContentsAcknowledgements Chronology Introduction Letters Further Reading Index

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Book SynopsisThe Picture of Dorian Gray altered the way Victorians understood the world they inhabited, heralding the end of a repressive era. Now, more than 120 years after Wilde handed it over to his publisher, Wilde’s uncensored typescript is published here for the first time, in an annotated, extensively illustrated edition.Trade ReviewNicholas Frankel has done a great service to Oscar Wilde's readers in preparing this new edition of The Picture of Dorian Gray. His introduction and annotations deepen our understanding not only of Wilde the writer but of the political and sexual milieu in which he lived and published. This is the kind of scholarship that reminds us why scholarship matters. -- David LeavittFrankel's extensive annotations reveal that the homoerotic qualities of the novel are deeply encoded within it and cannot be excised by the removal of a few phrases...If the restored text is interesting primarily as a social document of what was and was not permissible in England in the 1890s, it poignantly reveals an author desperately at war with his society and with himself. -- Ruth Franklin * New Republic online *In pages redolent of fin-de-siecle languor and sparkling with bons mots, Wilde's only novel raises several seriously troubling questions: If one could live a life of absolute freedom, would the result be happiness or a nightmare? How much of our complex selves do we deny or sacrifice to conventional morality? ...This Harvard edition of the untouched typescript is thus a necessary acquisition for any serious student of Wilde's work...After this enthralling novel has left you shaken and disturbed, look for deeper understanding in Nicholas Frankel's superb annotated edition. -- Michael Dirda * Washington Post *This edition gives us a chance to read Wilde's text in a form as close as possible to the way he meant it to appear. -- Sarah Boslaugh * PopMatters *The Picture of Dorian Gray categorically changed Victorian Britain and the landscape of literature. An ostentatious, self-confessed aesthete, known for his wit and intellect, Wilde not only had to endure his prose being labeled "poisonous" and "vulgar," but also suffer its use as evidence in the ensuing trial, resulting in his eventual imprisonment for crimes of "gross indecency." Frankel's introduction provides a deft preliminary analysis of the novel itself--exploring etymology and extensive editorial alterations (both accidental and deliberate)--and offers valuable insight into the socio-cultural juxtaposition of aristocratic Victorian society and the London underworld. The original typescript provides the unique opportunity to examine what was considered acceptable in both the U.S. and UK at the time...A fine contextualization of a major work of fiction profoundly interpreted, ultimately riveting. * Publishers Weekly (starred review) *There is a good argument that the published version of the novel is not quite true to its author's intent or achievement, and Nicholas Frankel, who teaches English at Virginia Commonwealth University, has now set things right--and in handsome fashion. He has skillfully restored Wilde's original version, and in the manner of other great annotated editions, supplied readers with everything anyone would need to know about Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray, and their lives and times...The entire product--novel and critical/biographical material--makes fascinating reading. -- Philip Terzian * Weekly Standard *Like Harvard University Press's other beautiful annotated editions of classics, this is both handsome and instructive. -- David Azzolina * Library Journal *A richly annotated and illustrated volume edited by Nicholas Frankel. It is not often that a piece of serious scholarship is accorded such deluxe treatment, and in this case it is a cause for real celebration, for Frankel has provided a wealth of supplemental material and visual matter, as well as a "Textual Introduction" and a series of notes that explain references and cultural context, help the reader understand the editing processes, and point out the passages that were singled out for deletion...This annotated version [is] a treasure for scholars and for anyone with a serious interest in Wilde, the 1890s, and Aestheticism. -- Brooke Allen * Barnes & Noble Review *Oscar Wilde's novel The Picture of Dorian Gray may have outraged Victorian society even more had his editor not deleted sections of his original text...These passages and others deemed risky 120 years ago now appear for the first time. -- Nicholas Clee * The Times *Splendid...Profusely illustrated and annotated, the edition's most interesting feature will be a comparison of the original hand-emended typescript with the two main published versions, each of which toned down the novel in a vain effort to avoid the notoriety that descended on both the work and its author...Frankel's edition is a major contribution to the studies of Wilde and of late Victorian legal, sexual, and social contexts...Required reading for students and scholars of Wilde and his period. -- George Bornstein * Times Literary Supplement *In this day of Kindles, e-books and tweets, this is truly a magnificent job of bookmaking. Oversized, lavishly illustrated and gorgeously presented, Oscar would have loved it. The text is examined minutely, with a variety of comparisons from various publications of the novel, as well as Wilde's original manuscript...The scholarship is both astounding and informative. The annotator and editor, Nicholas Frankel, easily and effortlessly places the modern reader in Wilde's time and place, London's late Victorian Age in London. There is still a tingle to Dorian's story of endless debauchery while he remains looking pure and innocent for decades and the painting ages and grows monstrous, reflecting his sins and crimes. Strangely, the book seems more modern than one would imagine. Rather than merely a potboiler from two centuries back, Wilde's genius imbues the story with a strange and haunting immediacy, and a cautionary tale for us all: Be careful what you wish for. One could hardly wish for a more beautifully accoutered book. -- Alan W. Petrucelli * Pittsburgh Examiner *There is much to be appreciated in this handsome scholarly edition...Frankel [is] an accomplished guide and this edition an elegant resource that enables us to admire all the more deeply the portrait and the artist. -- Richard Gibson * Books & Culture *The version that Wilde submitted to Lippincott's [published for the first time by Harvard University Press] is the better fiction. It has the swift and uncanny rhythm of a modern fairy tale--and Dorian is the greatest of Wilde's fairy tales. -- Alex Ross * New Yorker *It's a revelatory exercise to examine the text of Wilde's original typescript...It yields a deeper understanding of its author and of the hypocrisy and intolerance of late-Victorian English society which led to his two-year imprisonment for "gross indecency."...With this landmark edition we have the opportunity, until now denied us, to read what the author originally wrote. It unquestionably belongs on every Wildean's shelves. -- Joel Greenberg * The Australian *Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray has the distinction of being one of the few pieces of literature that grew longer by way of being censored...It's seven chapters longer than his original version, which now appears for the first time from Harvard University Press by way of a brilliant scholarly presentation of the typescript Wilde submitted to the Philadelphia office of Lippincott's magazine...The typescript (in the UCLA library, but published for the first time here) is, besides truer to Wilde's original intentions, a vastly better novel than the one Lippincott's Monthly Magazine published, say nothing of the much expanded version England's Ward, Lock and Company brought out the next year, the one most of us know. To call Wilde's earlier version leaner would miss the flavor and point of this aestheticism-drenched work, but it's a swifter, bolder, more uncompromising, less moralistic and in every respect more affecting work than its edited, rewritten, or otherwise censored versions. Who would have thought a scholarly edition would be the one to have? But everything about Nicholas Frankel's revelatory new edition of the typescript of The Picture of Dorian Gray is game-changing. Reading it is like viewing a painting by Michelangelo--one of the great artists Wilde named while explaining what he meant by the phrase "the love that dare not speak its name" (to cheers of applause from some in the gallery) in the 1895 court trial--returned to its original glory by deeply knowledgeable, painstaking art restorers. If it did nothing more, Frankel's exhaustively researched book would be a dream presentation of any edition of Dorian Gray, lavishly illustrated with relevant art of the period, including priceless photographs that bring the details of Wilde's book, amazingly now 120 years old, to vivid life. The typescript text is larded with footnotes I'm tempted to describe as being as absorbing as Wilde's writing, except that no one's writing is more captivating than Wilde's, as Frankel would be the first to agree...Entry by entry, Frankel's painstaking explication of the culture Wilde's writing was both a product of, and immeasurably advanced, makes this dense, brilliant book comprehensible...Once through this seminal text with all its notes, illustrations, and explanations, the drive is to go back and re-read the typescript (easily recognized by its larger typeface) all over again, just because it's such a terrific book. -- Tim Pfaff * Bay Area Reporter *We now have an uncensored Dorian, which is very exciting...[It's] a beautifully produced volume: lots of white space, helpful annotations, crisp color illustrations and photographs. -- Nikolai Endres * Victorians *[A] superbly annotated new edition of Wilde's novel. -- Colm Tóibín * London Review of Books *

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Book SynopsisFour popular novelists of the same generation each wrote a novel inspired by a holiday that the author spent in France. In the nineteen-fifties, Rumer Godden based The Greengage Summer on her recollections of her family’s 1923 battlefield-tour manqué in the Champagne region. Margery Sharp’s 1936 holiday in Southern France led to ‘Still Waters’ and The Nutmeg Tree: both the short story and the novel are set in and around the region of Aix-les-Bains. In 1955, Daphne Du Maurier first visited the department of Sarthe to research French family history; the novel The Scapegoat was the immediate result of the holiday. And in 1966, Stella Gibbons’ last trip to the continent took the form of a visit to an old friend in her summer home near Grenoble. The stay is obliquely reflected in The Snow-Woman, in which a similar holiday leads a never-married septuagenarian to experience a renaissance of sorts.Trade Review"This is a very original literary study of the work of four British writers who, though still remembered today, are not as celebrated or read as much as they deserve to be. Through the prism of visits to France in the novels and stories of these writers, Anne Hall explores the delicate and subtle interplay of relations between those two nations in fiction. It is elegantly written, illuminating and informative. There is some fascinating original scholarship here, but, above all, Four French Holidays is highly entertaining and tempts you to go and read for yourself (if you haven’t already) or re-read the works under consideration." Reggie Oliver, nephew and biographer of Stella Gibbons

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Book SynopsisCompleting Juliette Wells' groundbreaking trio of books on Austen's readers, this latest volume revolutionizes our understanding of how Austen came to be viewed as the world's greatest novelist. Wells shows that Austen's global reputation was established not by British scholars, as is commonly believed, but by visionary American writers and collectors, working largely outside academia.Drawing on extensive research, Wells weaves together colorful, compelling case studies of men and women who, from the 1880s to the 1980s, helped readers appreciate Austen's novels, persuasively advocated for her place in the literary canon, and preserved artifacts vital to her legacy.Engagingly written and abundantly illustrated, A New Jane Austen will inform and delight scholars and Austen fans alike.Trade ReviewWells's recovery and championship of these American enthusiasts is descriptive, laudatory and accessible in style ... She gives space and a second hearing to voices and approaches whose love for all things Austen, she believes, has much to teach us. * Times Literary Supplement *If you thought you knew how Jane Austen came to be viewed as the world’s greatest novelist, think again. Wells’s meticulously researched and beautifully written book introduces a fascinating group of individuals whose contributions to Austen studies have long been obscure. After reading this book, I came to care as much about Alberta Burke and Oscar Fay Adams as I do about many of Austen’s characters. -- Professor Jennie Batchelor, University of Kent, UKAn insightful, illuminating and meticulously researched book. Wells animates her subjects with skill, energy and affection in a study that significantly deepens our understanding of early Austen experts and enthusiasts and their contribution to the field. * Lizzie Dunford, Director, Jane Austen's House, UK *Table of ContentsIntroduction Chapter 1: Austen for Americans, and for the world: Oscar Fay Adams, critical editor and biographer Chapter 2: Canonizing “the giant Jane”: William Dean Howells, interpreter and advocate Chapter 3: Topaz crosses plus treasures of another kind: Charles Beecher Hogan, collector and keeper of reading journals Chapter 4: A labor of love and friendship: Alberta H. Burke, Averil G. Hassall, and the building of a transatlantic Austen archive Afterword: Jane Austen Anew Bibliography

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Book SynopsisAn excellent introdction and valuable companion to the reading of Joyce from one of the 20th century's greatest writers.

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Book SynopsisExam Board: AQALevel: GCSE Grade 9-1Subject: English LiteratureSuitable for the 2024 examsEverything you need to revise for your GCSE 9-1 set text in a snap guideEverything you need to score top marks on your GCSE Grade 9-1 English Literature exam is right at your fingertips! Revise Frankenstein by Mary Shelley in a snap with this new GCSE Grade 9-1 Snap Revision Text Guide from Collins. Refresh your knowledge of the plot, context, characters and themes and pick up top tips along the way to ace your AQA exam. Each topic is explained in an easy-to-read format so you can get straight to the point. Then, put your skills to the test with plenty of practice questions included in every section. The Snap Text Guides are packed with every quote and extract you need. We've even included examples of how to plan and write your essay responses! This Collins English Literature revision guide contains all the key information you need to practise and pass.

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

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Book SynopsisA charming new pocket edition of one of Tolkien's major pieces of short fiction, and his only finished work dating from after publication of The Lord of the Rings.What began as a preface to The Golden Key by George MacDonald eventually grew into this charming short story, so named by Tolkien to suggest an early work by P.G. Wodehouse. Composed almost a decade after The Lord of the Rings, and when his lifelong occupation with the Silmarillion' was winding down, Smith of Wootton Major was the product of ripened experience and reflection. It was published in 1967 as a small hardback, complete with charming black and white illustrations by Pauline Baynes, and would be the last work of fiction to be published in Tolkien's own lifetime.Now, almost 50 years on, this enchanting tale of a wanderer who finds his way into the perilous realm of Faery is being published in paperback. Contained here are many intriguing links to the world of Middle-earth, as well as to Tolkien's other tales, and this new edition is enhanced with a facsimile of the illustrated first edition, a manuscript of Tolkien's early draft of the story, notes and an alternate ending, and a lengthy essay on the nature of Faery.Trade Review“The book has a haunting quality, characteristic of the best of the ‘deeper’ folktales. It is a beautiful, memorable story.” Times Educational Supplement “It may be compared to the most delicate miniature but it is one of a rare kind: the more closely it is examined the more it reveals the grandeur of its conception. Whoever reads it at eight will still be going back to it at eighty.” New Statesman “A tremendously valuable volume with important new insights into Tolkien’s way of working. It’s also a beautiful hardcover edition of the story.” Mythprint

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Book SynopsisMary Wesley published her first novel at seventy and went on to write a further nine bestsellers, including the legendary The Camomile Lawn, in a style best described as arsenic without the old lace. Many of her stories were inspired by her experiences during the Blitz, and by her marriages: the first to an aristocrat, a brief and conventional affair, and the second to a penniless writer she adored.A remarkable book about a remarkable woman, Patrick Marnham''s brilliantly researched and wonderfully impartial book disentangles truth from rumour, highlighting the links between Wesley''s real life and her fiction.Trade ReviewMuch of the fascination of Marnham's well-researched and admirably impartial book is that it reveals just how autobiographical Wesley's fiction was -- Miranda Seymour * Sunday Times *[A] fast-paced riveting biography -- Valerie Grove * The Times *A striking portrait not only of an amazing, if strange, woman but of an entire social class -- Rachel Cooke * Evening Standard *Unpicks the complicated web of deceits and half-truths that surrounded much of her life with wit, patience and skill, providing just the sort of compelling read that Wesley did in her novel * Independent *This biography is pure pleasure, a riveting, hilarious tragicomedy of manners... Marnham has disentangled truth from rumour, clarified the many connections between Wild Mary's rackety life and Mary Wesley's fiction, and produced a generous, unsentimental and intelligent portrait of a woman's life and times * Spectator *

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Book Synopsis''I hated the office. I hated my work...the only career in life within my reach was that of an author.''The only autobiography by a major Victorian novelist, Trollope''s account offers a fascinating insight into his literary life and opinions. After a miserable childhood and misspent youth, Trollope turned his life around at the age of twenty-six. By 1860 the ''hobbledehoy'' had become both a senior civil servant and a best-selling novelist. He worked for the Post Office for many years and stood unsuccessfully for Parliament. Best-known for the two series of novels grouped loosely around the clerical and political professions, the Barsetshire and Palliser series, in his Autobiography Trollope frankly describes his writing habits. His apparent preoccupation with contracts, deadlines, and earnings, and his account of the remorseless regularity with which he produced his daily quota of words, has divided opinion ever since. This edition reassesses the work''s distinctive qualities and incTrade ReviewTrollope is one of my favourite authors & his autobiography is a portrait of a lovable man who survived a miserable childhood & created a happy life for himself, both personally & professionally as a novelist. * I Prefer Reading *Table of ContentsINTRODUCTION; NOTE ON THE TEXT; CHRONOLOGY; AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY; TROLLOPE ON JANE AUSTEN; 'ON ENGLISH PROSE FICTION AS A RATIONAL AMUSEMENT'; FROM THACKERAY; FROM 'THE GENIUS OF NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE; FROM 'A WALK IN THE WOOD'; APPENDIX: PASSAGES OMITTED FROM THE MANUSCRIPT; EXPLANATORY NOTES; INDEX

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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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Book SynopsisIn this extraordinary work, Omar Sakr deftly weaves a multifaceted tale brimming with angels and djinn, racist kangaroos and adoring bats, examining with a poet's eye the destructive impetus of repressed desire and the complexities that make us human.

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Book SynopsisA Penguin ClassicIt is April 1793 and the final power struggle of the French Revolution is taking hold: the aristocrats are dead and the poor are fighting for bread in the streets. In a Paris swept by fear and hunger lives Gamelin, a revolutionary young artist appointed magistrate, and given the power of life and death over the citizens of France. But his intense idealism and unbridled single-mindedness drive him inexorably towards catastrophe. Published in 1912, The Gods Will Have Blood is a breathtaking story of the dangers of fanaticism, while its depiction of the violence and devastation of the Reign of Terror is strangely prophetic of the sweeping political changes in Russia and across Europe.For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and diTrade ReviewBy the Winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature

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'York Notes for GCSE' offers a useful approach to English Literature and aims to help readers achieve a better grade. Updated to reflect the needs of today's students, the new editions are filled with detailed summaries, commentaries on key themes, characters, language and style, illustrations, exam advice and much more.

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Book SynopsisÉmile Zola was the leader of the literary movement known as ''naturalism'' and is one of the great figures of the novel. In his monumental Les Rougon-Macquart (1871-93), he explored the social and cultural landscape of the late nineteenth century in ways that scandalized bourgeois society. Zola opened the novel up to a new realm of subjects, including the realities of working-class life, class relations, and questions of gender and sexuality, and his writing embodied a new freedom of expression, with his bold, outspoken voice often inviting controversy. In this Very Short Introduction, Brian Nelson examines Zola''s major themes and narrative art. He illuminates the social and political contexts of Zola''s work, and provides readings of five individual novels (The Belly of Paris, L''Assommoir, The Ladies'' Paradise, Germinal, and Earth). Zola''s naturalist theories, which attempted to align literature with science, helped to generate the stereotypical notion that his fiction was somehow nonfictional. Nelson, however, reveals how the most distinctive elements of Zola''s writing go far beyond his theoretical naturalism, giving his novels their unique force. Throughout, he sets Zola''s work in context, considering his relations with contemporary painters, his role in the Dreyfus Affair, and his eventual murder. 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 ReviewIts highlights are the short yet lucid English translations from Zola's French and vivid plot summaries. * Sucheta Kapoor, Techno India University, West Bengal , Nineteenth-Century French Studies *As an introduction to Zola's life and work, Nelson's little book cannot be faulted: it is grounded in a specialist's mastery of the field; it is completed by a reliable chronology; and its invitation to read further is supported by a bibliography listing major editions in French as well as critical studies in English which range from the accessible to the scholarly. * Robert Lethbridge, Journal of European Studies *Table of ContentsAcknowledgements List of illustrations Introduction 1 Zola and the art of fiction 2 Before the Rougon-Macquart 3 The fat and the thin: The Belly of Paris 4 'A work of truth': L'Assommoir 5 The man-eater: Nana 6 The dream machine: The Ladies' Paradise 7 Down the mine: Germinal 8 The Great Mother: Earth 9 After the Rougon-Macquart A chronology of Zola's life and works References Further reading

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Book SynopsisThe first fantasy-writing textbook to combine a historical genre overview with an anthology and comprehensive craft guide, this book explores the blue prints of one of the most popular forms of genre fiction. The first section will acquaint readers with the vast canon of existing fantasy fiction and outline the many sub-genres encompassed within it before examining the important relationship between fantasy and creative writing, the academy and publishing. A craft guide follows which equips students with the key concepts of storytelling as they are impacted by writing through a fantastical lens. These include: - Character and dialogue - Point of view - Plot and structure - Worldbuilding settings, ideologies and cultures - Style and revision The third section guides students through the spectrum of styles as they are classified in fantasy fiction from Epic and high fantasy, through Lovecraftian and Weird fiction, to magical realism and hybrid faTrade ReviewA thorough take on the Fantasy genre by someone who clearly loves the genre, and a welcome addition to an academic field that deserves more scholarship. * Nicole Peeler, Director of the Writing Popular Fiction Program, Seton Hill University, USA *Jennifer Pullen’s Fantasy Fiction: A Writer’s Guide and Anthology is the book students and teachers of not only Fantasy fiction but also fiction writ large have been waiting for. Capacious, generous, and wise, it deftly embraces history, inhabits our current cultural moment, and enables the future. An instant classic. * Stephanie Vanderslice, Professor of Creative Writing and Co-Director Arkansas Writers MFA Workshop, University of Central Arkansas, USA *Table of ContentsTable of Contents Section 1: An Introduction to Fantasy Writing Introduction Chapter 1: Fantasy and Its Evolution Chapter 2: Fantasy Genres (a mostly comprehensive review) Chapter 3: Fantasy Fiction, Publishing, and Creative Writing in the Academy Section 2: The Craft of Fantasy Writing Chapter 4: Character and Dialogue Chapter 5: Point of View Chapter 6: Structure and Plot Chapter 7: Worldbuilding Part 1 Chapter 8: Worldbuilding Part 2 Chapter 9: Worldbuilding Part 3 Chapter 10: Style and Revision Discussion Questions and Writing Activities Section 3: Genres and Styles of Fantasy Writing Chapter 11: Epic Fantasy, High Fantasy, and Sword and Sorcery Fantasy Chapter 12: Historical Fantasy Chapter 13: Weird Fiction, Lovecraftian Fantasy, Gothic Fantasy, and Cosmic Horror Chapter 14: Contemporary and Urban Fantasy Chapter 15: Fabulism and Magical Realism Chapter 16: Mythic, Fairy Tale, Folkloric, and Fairy Fantasy Chapter 17: Hybrid Fantasy Conclusion Anthology Cooney—Martyr’s Gem Donaldson—The Albatrosses Goss—England Under the White Witch Jones—The Night Bazaar for Women Becoming Reptiles Le Guin—The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas Liu—Good Hunting Miéville—The Condition of New Death Murray—La Llorona Roanhorse—Harvest Samatar—Meet Me in Iram Singh—A Handful of Rice Ulmer—Red Valentine— From the Catalogue of the Pavilion of the Marvelous, Scheduled for Premiere at the Great Exhibition (Before the Fire) Notes and References

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Book SynopsisZombies have become an increasingly popular object of research in academic studies and, of course, in popular media. Over the past decade, they have been employed to explain mathematical equations, vortex phenomena in astrophysics, the need for improved laws, issues within higher education, and even the structure of human societies. Despite the surge of interest in the zombie as a critical metaphor, no coherent theoretical framework for studying the zombie actually exists. Addressing this current gap in the literature, Theorising the Contemporary Zombie defines zombiism as a means of theorising and examining various issues of society in any given era by immersing those social issues within the destabilising context of apocalyptic crisis; and applying this definition, the volume considers issues including gender, sexuality, family, literature, health, popular culture and extinction.Table of ContentsContents: Abstract Author Biographies List of Figures Introduction - Scott Hamilton and Conor Heffernan I. Zombified Bodies 1. Zombies, Deviance, and the Right to Posthuman Life - Poppy Wilde (Birmingham City University) 2. The Apocalypse Workout: Health, Identity and Zombies - Conor Heffernan (University of Texas at Austin) 3. Zombie Orgies and the Fear of the Outer Limits: Examining the Relationship between Fear, Pornography and Zombies - Caroline West (Dublin City University) 4. Aloha-oe: Hello, Goodbye to Love and Family in Sang-ho Yeon's Train to Busan - Harvey O'Brien (University College Dublin) II. Critical Environments 5. The Stalking Dead: Ireland's Ambiguous Revenants and the Case for a Folk-Zombie Revival - Jack Fennell (University of Limerick) 6. M.R. Carey's The Boy on the Bridge: Ethics and the Apocalypse - Scott Eric Hamilton (University College Dublin) 7. Zombie Colony: The Heteronomy of the Greek State & The Datura of Cultural Capital - Konstantinos Kerasovitis (University of Wolverhampton) 8. Last Ones Left Alive: Zombies and Post-Politics - Deirdre Flynn (University College Dublin) III. Undead Cultures 9. Beware the Zuvembies: Comics, Censorship, and the Ubiquity of Not-Quite-Zombies - Chera Kee (Wayne State University) 10. Distortions of the Video Dead: The Degradation of Reality in the Era of Zombie VHS - Peter Wright (The University of Sydney) 11. 'Violence is Italian art': Art and Adaptation in Lucio Fulci's 'Gates of Hell' Trilogy - Miranda Corcoran (University College Cork) 12. Surviving the Shambling Signifieds: Zombies, Language, and Chaos - Andrew Ferguson (University of Maryland) Bibliography Index

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Book Synopsis''Oh! Monsieur is Persian? That''s most extraordinary! How can someone be Persian?''Two Persian travellers, Usbek and Rica, arrive in Paris just before the death of Louis XIV and in time to witness the hedonism and financial crash of the Regency. In their letters home they report on visits to the theatre and scientific societies, and observe the manners and flirtations of polite society, the structures of power and the hypocrisy of religion. Irony and bitter satire mark their comparison of East and West and their quest for understanding. Unsettling news from Persia concerning the female world of the harem intrudes on their new identities and provides a suspenseful plot of erotic jealousy and passion.This pioneering epistolary novel and work of travel-writing opened the world of the West to its oriental visitors and the Orient to its Western readers. This is the first English translation based on the original text, revealing this lively work as Montesquieu first intended. ABOUT THE SERI

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Book SynopsisSet in the months before the outbreak of the Great War and in print for almost 100 years The Thirty-Nine Steps is John Buchan's most popular novel. This timely look at the book - what inspired it, its themes and metaphors - and at its author - how much of John Buchan's own self and experiences are in it - will greatly enhance the reader's enjoyment.Trade Review' ... It doesn't matter how many times you have read "The Thirty-Nine Steps", this book will allow you to see it through fresh eyes and appreciate it even more deeply.' Undiscovered ScotlandTable of ContentsIntroduction - The man who lived / London, and the man who died / Galloway and the Borders / Upper Tweedale / The living hill country / The Scots in the modern world / South Africa and secret societies / Disguise and disappearance / Converging on the sea / Further reading and summaries of the Buchan novels.

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Book SynopsisWinner of the H.R.F. Keating Award for best biographical/critical book related to crime fiction, and nominated for the Edgar Allen Poe and Macavity Awards for Best Critical/Biographical book.Ninety crime writers from the world's oldest and most famous crime writing network give tips and insights into successful crime and thriller fiction.Howdunit offers a fresh perspective on the craft of crime writing from leading exponents of the genre, past and present. The book offers invaluable advice to people interested in writing crime fiction, but it also provides a fascinating picture of the way that the best crime writers have honed their skills over the years. Its unique construction and content mean that it will appeal not only to would-be writers but also to a very wide readership of crime fans.The principal contributors are current members of the legendary Detection Club, including Ian Rankin, Val McDermid, Peter James, Peter Robinson, Ann Cleeves, Andrew Taylor, Elly Griffiths, Sophie HTrade Review'Aspirant crime writers will relish the tips in Howdunit'—Barry Forshaw, Financial Times ‘A must-read for fans of crime writing and would-be authors alike.’—Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine ‘There can be few people in the country who know more about crime fiction than Martin Edwards.’—On Magazine

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Book SynopsisThe Wind in the Willows has its origins in the bedtime stories that Kenneth Grahame told to his son Alastair and then continued in letters (now held in the Bodleian Library) while he was on holiday. But the book developed into something much more sophisticated than this, as Peter Hunt shows. He identifies the colleagues and friends on whom Grahame is thought to have based the characters of Mole, Rat, Badger and Toad, and explores the literary genres of boating, caravanning and motoring books on which the author drew. He also recounts the extraordinary correspondence surrounding the book’s first publication and the influence of two determined women – Elspeth Grahame and publisher’s agent Constance Smedley – who helped turn the book into the classic for children we know and love today, when it was almost entirely intended for adults. Generously illustrated with original drawings, fan letters (including one from President Roosevelt) and archival material, this book explores the mysteries surrounding one of the most successful works of children’s literature ever published.Trade Review'How did a famous book come to be written by a man with no interest in it and how did it become a children's classic when it was almost entirely intended for adults? This splendid book gives the answers to both these curious conundrums.' * This England Magazine *'This lovingly-illustrated book is full of archival material and explores the mysteries surrounding one of the most successful works of children's literature.' * Countryside Magazine *'Well laid out and thoroughly readable book … Read this book for the tale of how 'The Wind in the Willows' took shape is equally as fascinating.' * The Field *'An elegant, attractively-tactile, visually-enhancing volume that should fly off bookshop shelves with the speed of Toad behind the wheel of his "shiny new motor-car, of great size, painted a bright red".' * Children's Books History Society *'If you have never read Kenneth Grahame's fantastic children's book, before you do please read this. … The timeless illustrations and their real locational inspirations all give a super insight into the creation of this wonderful tale. As Toad would say of this charming volume: "Poop! Poop!"' * Let's Talk! 'Books of the Month' *

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Book SynopsisEasy to use in the classroom or as a tool for revision, Oxford Literature Companions provide student-friendly analysis of a range of popular A Level set texts. Each book offers a lively, engaging approach to the text, covering characterisation and role, genre, context, language, themes, structure and critical views, whilst also providing a range of varied and in-depth activities to deepen understanding and encourage close work with the text. Each book also includes a comprehensive Skills and Practice section, which provides detailed advice on assessment and a bank of exam-style questions and annotated sample student answers. This guide covers The Handmaid''s Tale by Margaret Atwood, is suitable for all exam boards and for the most recent AS/A level specifications.

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Book SynopsisThis is the first full biography of Charles Williams (1886-1945), an extraordinary and controversial figure who was a central member of the Inklingsthe group of Oxford writers that included C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. Charles Williamsnovelist, poet, theologian, magician and guruwas the strangest, most multi-talented, and most controversial member of the group. He was a pioneering fantasy writer, who still has a cult following. C.S. Lewis thought his poems on King Arthur and the Holy Grail were among the best poetry of the twentieth century for ''the soaring and gorgeous novelty of their technique, and their profound wisdom''. But Williams was full of contradictions. An influential theologian, Williams was also deeply involved in the occult, experimenting extensively with magic, practising erotically-tinged rituals, and acquiring a following of devoted disciples. Membership of the Inklings, whom he joined at the outbreak of the Second World War, was only the final phase in a remarkabTrade ReviewIn Charles Williams: The Third Inkling, Grevel Lindop has written a page-turner. He proves himself a master of the biographical narrative. He knows how to end chapters and sections of chapters with cliffhangers. He liberally employs the ironic slant, and he has an eye for visuals. Lindop's preface, a model of balanced prose, sets the volume's tone. * Philip Irving Mitchell, Religion and the Arts *exemplary, and very thought-provoking * Philip Hensher, Books of the Year 2015, The Spectator *This solid and scholarly biography explores the byways of literary history with much verve and energy ... Lindop has provided a fascinating account * Philip Hensher, Spectator *Lindop has added significantly to our knowledge of the Third Man in the Inklings and deftly filled in some major blank areas in our standard map of literary modernism. * Kevin Jackson, Literary Review *excellent biography * London Review of Books *[a] fine, thoroughly researched book. * Tablet *thorough biography * Journey *fascinating reading ... meticulous study ... This biography puts Williams back in the picture * Andy Ffrench, Oxford Times *a fascinating, and even astonishing biography * Theology *Grevel Lindop's biography of Charles Williams is, in almost every way, all that one would want in such a study: comprehensive, judicious, sympathetic, but also properly surprised by its subject, for good and ill. * Rowan Williams, Journal of Inkling Studies *His prose style has benefitted from long years of listening to the musicality of language: his sentences are clear and competent, his narrative skill evident, his storytelling ability considerable. It is this last quality, in combination with his meticulous scholarship, that makes The Third Inkling masterful. * Sørina Higgins, Journal of Inkling Studies *Lindop's exhaustive research and clarity of presentation make this an indispensable volume for anyone who wishes to understand Williams and come to terms with his writing and influence. No future study of Williams will be adequate without drawing on this study; Lindop deserves much praise for bringing to completion such a massive endeavour. * Holly Ordway, Journal of Inkling Studies *Lindop's narrative, packed with incident and parcelled into satisfying arcs, is exemplary * Oxford Today *Grevel Lindop has written a ground-breaking life, at once scholarly and readable, which reveals Williams in all his fascination ... Lindop has done a real service in showing not only why his writing had such an appeal for Tolkein, Lewis, and Eliot, but how it can still jolt us into deeper reflection today. * The Rt Revd Lord Harries, Church Times *the definitive biography ... .a brilliant introduction to a brilliant, yet very troubled and troubling, man * Evangelical Times *an authoritative, and extremely readable, biography. * Sydney Morning Herald *The Third Inkling is a very readable book which wears its meticulous research lightly - and that's no mean feat. It raises some important and troubling questions. * A Writer's Life *well-written biography * Notre Dame magazine *wonderful biography * Network Review *As a work of biographical scholarship, then, The Third Inkling leaves nothing to be desired. * The Oddest Inkling *a thorough, profound, and sympathetic study * A.N Wilson, First Things *an excellent biography, taking its place as the premier resource on Williams * The Notion Club Papers *Table of ContentsPrologue Chapter One: From Holloway to Silvania Chapter Two: 'The Most Talkative Young Man' Chapter Three: The Silver Stair Chapter Four: 'Marriages are Made in Heaven' Chapter Five: The Initiate Chapter Six: 'The Satanist' Chapter Seven: 'Why the Devil Does Anyone Ever Get Married?' Chapter Eight: Romantic Theology Chapter Nine: Phyllis Chapter Ten: 'I Can't Do Without You - I Can't' Chapter Eleven: Substitution Chapter Twelve: Novels and the Poetic Mind Chapter Thirteen: 'They Saved My Life by Three Hours' Chapter Fourteen: 'I'm Becoming a Myth to Myself' Chapter Fifteen: 'The Staff Work of the Omnipotence' Chapter Sixteen: The Order of the Co-Inherence Chapter Seventeen: 'A Kind of Parody of London' Chapter Eighteen: 'Bitter Is the Brew of Exchange' Chapter Nineteen: A Pioneer for the Young Poets Chapter Twenty: 'It Is Not Yet Too Late' Chapter Twenty-One: 'Into the Province of Death' Epilogue

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Book SynopsisLiterature and a love of the English countryside are natural companions.Walking the Literary Landscape by Ian Hamilton and Diane Roberts brings the two together in a collection of 20 circular routes in the north of England, all between 3 and 9 miles (5 and 15 kilometres) in length. The walks explore the physical settings that inspired some of our greatest literature.Walk in the footsteps of writers like Arthur Ransome, who drew inspiration from the Lake District for his classic children's adventure Swallows and Amazons, or the Brontë sisters whose love of the moors around Haworth echoes through the centuries. See Chatsworth, the Peak District house that thrilled Jane Austen, and tread carefully in Whitby, the Yorkshire seaside town where Bram Stoker set his most famous creation Dracula.Each route introduces you to a landscape familiar to some of our greatest writers, and is accompanied by clear and easy-to-use Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 maps, straightforward directions, and information on each area's literary links, refreshment stops and local amenities. Everything you need for a great literary walk.Table of ContentsIntroductionAcknowledgementsAbout the walksWalk timesNavigationFootpaths and rights of waySafetyThe Countryside CodeHow to use this bookMaps, descriptions, distancesKm/mile conversion chartArea MapThe Lake District1 Bassenthwaite Lake and Dodd (Alfred, Lord Tennyson)2 Carrock Fell (Charles Dickens)3 Coniston Water and Torver (Arthur Ransome)4 Far Sawrey and Windermere (Beatrix Potter)5 Grasmere and Rydal Water (William Wordsworth)6 Walla Crag and Derwentwater (John Ruskin)The North East, the Moors & the Dales7 Blanchland (W. H. Auden)8 Humbleton Hill and Wooler (William Shakespeare)9 Cleadon Hills and Marsden Rock (Catherine Cookson)10 Whitby (Bram Stoker)11 Around Thirsk (James Herriot)12 Upper Wharfedale and Hubberholme (J. B. Priestley)13 Malham Tarn and Cove (Charles Kingsley)Peak District, South Pennines & Cheshire14 Hurst Green and Stonyhurst College (J. R. R. Tolkien)15 Haworth and the moors (The Brontë sisters)16 Mytholmroyd and the Calder Valley (Ted Hughes)17 Mam Tor and the caverns (Arthur Conan Doyle)18 Around Chatsworth (Jane Austen)19 Knutsford and Tatton Park (Elizabeth Gaskell)20 Daresbury (Lewis Carroll)AppendixAbout the authors

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Book SynopsisThis book presents a detailed critical analysis of a period of significant formal and thematic innovation in Muriel Spark's literary career.Trade Review"Muriel Spark's Early Fiction is a magnificent achievement, bursting with revealing and original insights into Spark's fiction and the enduring preoccupations and working methods of this most singular author. The result is a welcome addition to the process Spark scholars have embarked upon in recent years: extricating (or 'desegregating') the author from the various literary-critical categories that once confined her. Bailey's approach is flexible and multi-faceted by contrast, and draws on an impressively extensive use of previously unexamined archival material. The reader is provided with illuminating explorations of 'instances of narrative daring' during the first two decades of Spark's career which range from under-examined early short stories to key texts such as The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie and The Driver's Seat, and place the emphasis on her enduring commitment to highlight the ways women become inscribed in oppressive cultural narratives. It is a rich and readable monograph which lives up to its ambition to establish a more complex and appropriate framework to discuss Spark in our current critical era, and will therefore be essential reading for those embarking on future studies of one of the most brilliant and unusual writers of the second half of the Twentieth Century." -Bran Nicol, University of Surrey

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Book Synopsis Isaac Asimov’s Foundation is the most influential science-fiction epic of all time. Published as a series of books and short stories from the 1940s to the 1980s, the series has impacted most subsequent science fiction, and influenced sciences like sociology, statistics, and psychology. The story has now been made into a highly acclaimed TV serial (Foundation), on Apple TV, the second season now shooting in Prague. The story begins 45,000 years in the future, and spans centuries in which a vast and successful interstellar human empire is unknowingly headed for total collapse. Using an advanced mathematical technique called psycho-history, a brilliant scientist, Hari Seldon, predicts the collapse and establishes a “foundation” to bring about the resurrection of human civilization many generations in the future.Asimov’s Foundation and Philosophy is a collection of twenty-four chapter by philosophers exploring the philosophical issues and puzzles raised by this epic story. Topics include whether one individual can make a big difference in history, the ethics of manipulating large populations of people to bring about a desirable future result, the Dao of non-action, the impact of education on future generations, whether human affairs are governed by predictable cycles, whether attempts to plan for the future must be thwarted by free will, the futility of empire-building, the ethics of cloning human beings, and the use of logic in analyzing human behavior.Joshua Heter teaches philosophy at Jefferson College, Missouri, and is co-editor of Better Call Saul and Philosophy: I Think Therefore I Scam (2022).Josef Thomas Simpson is an academic coach and part-time lecturer. He contributed chapters to Westworld and Philosophy: Mind Equals Blown (2019) and Orphan Black and Philosophy: Grand Theft DNA (2016).Trade ReviewIsaac Asimov (January 2, 1920 - April 6, 1992) was an American writer and professor of biochemistry at Boston University. During his lifetime, Asimov was considered one of the "Big Three" science fiction writers, along with Robert A. Heinlein and Arthur C. Clarke. A prolific writer, he wrote or edited more than 500 books. He also wrote an estimated 90,000 letters and postcards. Best known for his hard science fiction, Asimov also wrote mysteries and fantasy, as well as much non-fiction. (Wikipedia) Simply stated, novelist Isaac Asimov's Foundation trilogy is arguably the most influential science-fiction epic of all time. Published as a series of books and short stories from the 1940s to the 1980s, the series has impacted most subsequent science fiction, and influenced sciences like sociology, statistics, and psychology. The story has now been made into a highly acclaimed TV serial (Foundation), on Apple TV, the second season now shooting in Prague. The story begins 45,000 years in the future, and spans centuries in which a vast and successful interstellar human empire is unknowingly headed for total collapse. Using an advanced mathematical technique called psycho-history, a brilliant scientist, Hari Seldon, predicts the collapse and establishes a "foundation" to bring about the resurrection of human civilization many generations in the future. Asimov's Foundation and Philosophy is a collection of twenty-four chapter by philosophers exploring the philosophical issues and puzzles raised by this epic story. Topics include whether one individual can make a big difference in history, the ethics of manipulating large populations of people to bring about a desirable future result, the Dao of non-action, the impact of education on future generations, whether human affairs are governed by predictable cycles, whether attempts to plan for the future must be thwarted by free will, the futility of empire-building, the ethics of cloning human beings, and the use of logic in analyzing human behavior. Critique: Of special appeal to the legions of Isaac Asimov fans, and deftly co-edited by the team of Joshua Heter and Josef Thomas Simpson, "Asimov's Foundation and Philosophy" is a compendium of twenty-three erudite and inherently interesting articles on the impact of the Foundation series on popular culture, introducing the concept of 'psychohistory'. Enhanced for the reader with the inclusion of an eight page Bibliography, a four page listing of the contributors and their credentials (The Encyclopedists), and a three page Index, "Asimov's Foundation and Philosophy" is a significant and unreservedly recommended addition to personal, community, and academic library Popular Culture & Philosophy collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists. It should be noted that "Asimov's Foundation and Philosophy" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $8.99). Editorial Note #1: Joshua Heter (https://philpeople.org/profiles/joshua-heter) teaches philosophy at Jefferson College, Missouri, and is co-editor of Better Call Saul and Philosophy: I Think Therefore I Scam (2022). Editorial Note #2: Josef Thomas Simpson (https://philpeople.org/profiles/josef-thomas-simpson) is an academic coach and part-time lecturer. He contributed chapters to Westworld and Philosophy: Mind Equals Blown (2019) and Orphan Black and Philosophy: Grand Theft DNA (2016).

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Book SynopsisThe collected letters of John McGahern, 'one of the greatest writers of our era' (Hilary Mantel) and 'the most important Irish novelist since Samuel Beckett.' (Guardian)

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Book SynopsisFever is a fast-paced thriller from New York Times bestselling author and master of the medical thriller, Robin Cook.When his wife died of cancer and he desperately needed to know why, Doctor Charles Martel turned to research. Then his world is shattered for the second time. His daughter is admitted to hospital; his research project is cancelled.Suddenly, he’s a man fighting against the odds.Against doctors who want to treat his daughter’s leukaemia the wrong way.Against a research institute that puts profits before ethics.Odds enough to turn a responsible citizen into a desperate criminal . . .Trade ReviewThe master of the medical thriller. * New York Times *

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Book SynopsisA collection of essays by the influential founder of the black radical traditionTrade Review'Before the movement for black lives made black radicalism cool for millennials, Cedric Robinson did the work of excavating an intellectual history we rely upon today' -- The Root'Like W. E. B. Du Bois, Michel Foucault, Sylvia Wynter, and Edward Said, Robinson was that rare polymath capable of seeing the whole - its genesis as well as its possible future. No discipline could contain him. No geography or era was beyond his reach.... He left behind a body of work to which we must return constantly and urgently' -- Robin D. G. Kelley, author of 'Freedom Dreams: The Black Radical Imagination'‘Through these essays, we see further evidence of Robinson’s profound faith in the ability of ordinary people to fight against the corruptions of a world that routinely mocks the logic and practice of democracy. In them, we get a clear sense of what Robinson insisted in his work from the outset: that Black freedom struggles are a central part of resisting today’s violent racial and capitalist order’ -- The NationTable of ContentsForeword by Ruth Wilson Gilmore Preface by Elizabeth Peters Robinson Introduction: Looking for Grace in Redemption - H. L. T. Quan Part I - On Africa and Black Internationalism 1. Notes Toward a “Native” Theory of History 2. In Search of a Pan-African Commonwealth 3. The Black Detective and American Memory Part II - On Bourgeois Historiography 4. “The First Attack is an Attack on Culture” 5. Oliver Cromwell Cox and the Historiography of the West 6. Fascism and the Intersections of Capitalism, Racialism, and Historical Consciousness 7. Ota Benga’s Flight Through Geronimo’s Eyes: Tales of Science and Multiculturalism 8. Slavery and the Platonic Origins of Anti-democracy Part III - On World Politics and U.S. Foreign Policy 9. Fascism and the Response of Black Radical Theorists 10. Africa: In Hock to History and the Banks 11. The Comedy of Terror 12. Ralph Bunche and An American Dilemma Part IV - On Reality and Its (Mis)Representations 13. White Signs in Black Times: The Politics of Representation in Dominant Texts 14. The American Press and the Repairing of the Philippines 15. On the Los Angeles Times, Crack Cocaine, and the Rampart Division Scandal 16. Micheaux Lynches the Mammy 17. Blaxploitation and the Misrepresentation of Liberation 18. The Mulatta on Film: From Hollywood to the Mexican Revolution 19. Ventriloquizing Blackness: Eugene O’Neill and Irish-American Racial Performance Part V - On Resistance and Redemption 20. Malcolm Little as a Charismatic Leader 21. The Appropriation of Frantz Fanon 22. Amilcar Cabral and the Dialectic of Portuguese Colonialism 23. Race, Capitalism, and the Anti-democracy 24. David Walker and the Precepts of Black Studies 25. The Killing in Ferguson 26. On the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Index

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Book Synopsis''Clennam rose softly, opened and closed the door without a sound, and passed from the prison, carrying the quiet with him into the turbulent streets.''Introspective and dreamy, Arthur Clennam returns to England from many years abroad to find a people gripped in their self-made social and mental prisons. Against a background of government incompetence and financial scandal, he searches for the key to the affairs of the Dorrit family, prisoners for debt in the Marshalsea. He discovers through the seamstress Amy Dorrit the fulfilment of which he dreams, but only after he learns to understand his own heart. Revelation and redemption haunt Dickens''s portrayal of human relations as fundamentally distorted by class and money. The swindling financier Merdle, the bureaucratic nightmare of the Circumlocution Office, and a teeming cast of characters display the inadequacy of secular morality in the face of contemporary social and political confusion. Mixing humour and pathos, irony and satire, Dickens''s eleventh novel reveals a master of fiction in top form.This new edition, based on the definitive Clarendon text, includes all of Phiz''s original illustrations and a wide-ranging introduction highlighting Dickens''s move to more personal and spiritual concerns. 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.

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Book SynopsisJ. G. Ballard was, for over fifty years, one of this country''s most significant writers. Beginning with the events that inspired his classic novel, Empire of the Sun', this revelatory autobiography charts the course of his astonishing life.Miracles of Life' takes us from the vibrant surroundings of pre-war Shanghai, to the deprivations and unexpected freedoms of Lunghua Camp, to Ballard's arrival in a devastated Britain. Ballard recounts his first attempts at fiction and his part in the social and artistic revolutions of the 60s. He describes his friendships with figures as diverse as Kingsley Amis, Michael Moorcock and Eduardo Paolozzi alongside recollections of his domestic life in Shepperton raising three children as a single father following the unexpected and premature death of his wife.Miracles of Life' is both a captivating narrative of the experiences that have shaped this extraordinary writer's works, his distinctive outlook and his original visions of the future, and is alsTrade Review‘Superb. Mr Ballard, you are wonderful’ Sunday Times ‘Exquisitely written … ‘Miracles of Life’, a subtle, restlessly enquiring work of touching humanity, is Ballard’s crowning achievement’ Financial Times ‘Brief, modest and occasionally shattering, in a way that elevates it to a level of greatness’ Observer ‘A jewel. As a writer, he can simply take the breath away’ Independent

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Book SynopsisCelebrated novelist Daphne Du Maurier and her sisters, eclipsed by her fame, are revealed in all their surprising complexity in this riveting new biography.The middle sister in a famous artistic dynasty, Daphne du Maurier is one of the master storytellers of our time, author of Rebecca', Jamaica Inn' and My Cousin Rachel', and short stories, Don't Look Now' and the terrifying The Birds' among many. Her stories were made memorable by the iconic films they inspired, three of them classic Hitchcock chillers. But it was her sisters, writer Angela and artist Jeanne,who found the courage to defy the conventions that hampered Daphne's emotional life.In this group biography they are considered side by side, as they were in life, three sisters who grew up during the 20th century in the glamorous hothouse of a theatrical family dominated by a charismatic and powerful father. This family dynamic reveals the hidden world of the three sisters Piffy, Bird & Bing, as they were known to each other fTrade Review‘Perceptive and exuberant … a saga that is sparklingly re-told’ The Times ‘The fascination for readers is the different character and destiny of each sister, plus their relationships with one another and with the dynamics of the family romance – and few family romances have been more potent than that of the du Mauriers’ Spectator ‘Daphne is a compelling subject – passionate and cold, attractive and repellent … Angela suffers, as she did in life …from … Daphne’s infinitely more intriguing saga’ Evening Standard ‘Meticulous, perceptive … it is a sign of Jane Dunn’s generous professionalism that she accords the du Maurier girls the same respect that she gave Bloomsbury’s high priestesses in her acclaimed study of Woolf and her sister Vanessa Bell’ Financial Times ‘Engaging … this book’s strength lies in its account of a trio of lives developing during a period of class and gender upheaval, and the sisters’ response to social change’ Independent ‘Compelling … sensitive and sympathetic … loneliness is the thudding heart of Dunn’s book, about three pampered sisters who never quite overcame the handicap of not being boys’ Daily Telegraph ‘Intriguing and revelatory biography … [of] complex and contradictory lives’ Scotsman ‘Jane Dunn specialises in female relationships, and she has found three splendid women for her new book … Dunn writes with haunting delicacy … and she evokes a long-lost England in which women felt deep passions and survived emotional hurricanes with amazing outward restraint’ Mail on Sunday ‘Dunn is excellent on the lesbian 1920s and 30s in London, with delicious detail’ Guardian ‘An original, well-researched and very readable book full of well-chosen details and perceptive observations. In the subject of rivalry between literary sisters Jane Dunn has found a little goldmine’ Literary Review

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Book SynopsisSartre''s powerful political passions were united with a memorable literary gift, placing him foremost among the novelists, as well as the philosophers, of our time. Iris Murdoch''s pioneering study analyses and evaluates the different strands of Sartre''s rich and complex oeurve. Combining the objectivity of the scholar with a profound interest in contemporary problems, Iris Murdoch discusses the tradition of philosophical, political and aesthetic thought that gives historical authenticity to Satre''s achievement, while showing the ambiguities and dangers inherent in his position.Trade ReviewA penetrating introduction to the romantic rationalist, novelist and penseur * The Times *Iris Murdoch's concise study... reads as clear and logical as it did in 1953, and remains one of the best friends to anyone who wants to understand what existentialism was all about * Evening Standard *With a cool and luminous introduction...Sartre: Romantic Rationalist is all about the thinker, about his philosophy and his novels... Her fair if unflattering book is the best way in to what finally matters to Sartre * Observer *A remarkably intelligent and penetrating introduction to Sartre * Times Literary Supplement *

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Book SynopsisWith superb skill and feeling, Graham Greene retraces the experiences and encounters of his extraordinary life. His restlessness is legendary; as if seeking out danger, Greene travelled to Haiti during the nightmare rule of Papa Doc, Vietnam in the last days of the French, Kenya during the Mau Mau rebellion. With ironic delight he recalls his time in the British Secret Service in Africa, and his brief involvement in Hollywood. He writes, as only he can, about people and places, about faith, doubt, fear and, not least, the trials and craft of writing.Trade ReviewInspiring...provides the best possible introduction to the novels but also the portrait of a dedicated artist * Observer *Ways of Escape is as good as the best of its kind...marvellously rich -- William Trevor * Guardian *Excellent reading...wonderfully good * Sunday Telegraph *The writing is suffused with melancholy regret, not for what he writes, one feels, but for what he has left out * Independent *Greene is unrivalled in his ability to evoke location and the human condition -- Carol Drinkwater * Daily Express *

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Book SynopsisPhilip Roth is the voice of our times.In a sequence of intimate conversations with some of the most influential and insightful writers of the twentieth century, Roth explores the importance of region, politics and history in their work and that of their predecessors.What qualities helped Primo Levi survive the demented laboratory of Auschwitz? What does Milan Kundera make of being denounced as a subversive writer in communist Czechoslovakia? What does Edna O''Brien think drove generations of Irish writers into exile?Between colleagues and friends there is a startling candour seldom found in formal interviews, a sense that the guard is dropped, the ideas unbounded, as the conversations crackle with an urgency of ideas. Shop Talk is a literary symposium of the highest calibre, profoundly revelatory and consistently enlightening.Trade ReviewRiveting * Sunday Times *Roth brings out something adamantine and irreducible about each of his interlocutors... Rings with what his readers will recognise as Rothian intelligence * New York Times *The questions are serious, respectful and intelligent, and the interviewees respond in kind * Times Literary Supplement *Roth manages to tease from his subjects the convictions that fuel their work and the vulnerabilities that make them human... Yet another example of [his] clarity of purpose and singular intelligence * New York Times Book Review *Fascinating glimpses of some of the deans of postwar literature [and] a working diagram of the very engine that makes Roth run * Los Angeles Times Book Review *

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Book SynopsisPeter Ackroyd is an award-winning historian, biographer, novelist, poet and broadcaster. He is the author of the acclaimed non-fiction bestsellers London: The Biography, Thames: Sacred River and London Under; biographies of figures including Charles Dickens, William Blake, Charlie Chaplin and Alfred Hitchcock; and a multi-volume history of England. He has won the Whitbread Biography Award, the Royal Society of Literature's William Heinemann Award, the James Tait Black Memorial Prize, the Guardian Fiction Prize, the Somerset Maugham Award and the South Bank Prize for Literature. He holds a CBE for services to literature.Trade ReviewI can do no more than praise, recommend, insist that you buy and read this book.It supersedes all other Dickens biographies * Anthony Burgess, Independent *A truly magnificent biography.This is the complete, the nonesuch, the definitive Dickens * Sheridan Morley *A breathtaking feat of scholarship * The Times *Landmark biography… fascinating and colourful detail… first rate * Daily Express *Can't imagine a better introduction to the life and work of the quintessential English novelist than Peter Ackroyd's superb biography -- Simon Shaw * Mail on Sunday *

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Book SynopsisDavid Lodge (CBE)'s novels include Changing Places, Small World and Nice Work (shortlisted for the Booker) and, most recently, A Man of Parts. He has also written plays and screenplays, and several books of literary criticism. His works have been translated into more than thirty languages. He is Emeritus Professor of English Literature at Birmingham, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, and is a Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.Trade ReviewThe professor, the critic and the novelist work in harmony to provide a valuable tutorial on modern fiction * Observer *A fascinating survey of how novels convey our thoughts * Guardian *The abandonment of civilized talk about literature by the ‘theory’ fraternity would leave us very short if it were not for the likes of Lodge, the quality of whose prose and insights, not least because they both come matured from the casks of his own vocation, is a high treat. Leave consciousness to the neurophysiologists and philosophers, and explore human experience and selfhood with Lodge and the novelists, and enjoy -- A. C. Grayling * Financial Times *Lodge is a clear writer, wise about things and a careful reader and in general kind even to people who plainly irritate him -- Sam Leith * Spectator *He excels when he writes about books. His wide learning and through understanding of critical trends give confidence and enthusiasm to his work * Sunday Times *Lodge’s animating spark is his sedulousness, his ability to marshal the facts, pronounce a judgement and then subtly qualify it -- D. J. Taylor * Independent on Sunday *Consciousness and the Novel makes a bright, instructive introduction to David Lodge – as critic and novelist – for anyone who does not know his work * San Francisco Chronicle *Most other critics would make heavy weather of such topics, but Lodge always scintillates * Boston Globe *

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Book SynopsisThis is the story of Christopher Isherwood's parents their meeting in 1895, marriage in 1903 after his father had returned from the Boer War, and his father's death in an assault on Ypres in 1915, which left his mother a widow until her own death in 1960. As well as a family memoir, it is a social history of a period of striking change, and a portrait of the world which shaped Isherwood and which he rejected.Trade ReviewShows a deeper understanding of much that he had once rebelled against * Guardian *A moving account of his parents' marriage based on their letters and diaries * Independent *A social history of the first half of the twentieth century and a study of artistic megalomania... Christopher writes about Christopher with fine, clear, cool precision * Spectator *There emerge from this book three remarkable characters, two highly edifying, one a writer of compelling talent * Catholic Herald *

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Book SynopsisTells the story of Ian Fleming at Goldeneye in Jamaica, where all his novels and stories on James Bond were written. This book includes interviews with Ian's family, his Jamaican lover Blanche Blackwell and many other islanders. It deals with Ian Fleming's life and work.Trade ReviewSupremely enjoyable... Matthew Parker has created a completely new picture of Ian, Bond and the role of Jamaica in the making of the legend -- John Pearson, author of THE LIFE OF IAN FLEMINGThe book that James Bond obsessives have been waiting for – a beautiful, brilliant history of Ian Fleming at home at Goldeneye, all of sun-drenched, gin-soaked, bed-hopping colonial Jamaica outside the window and 007 at the moment of his creation. This is the big bang of Bond books. -- Tony Parsons[Here are] the glowing sea, the teeming life beneath the waves, and the warm black nights, all of which made their way into the Bond novels... [But] Parker’s highly readable account of Fleming’s Jamaican life is less Thunderball and more Jean Rhys’s Wide Sargasso Sea. Bond himself might have been a touch jealous. -- Sinclair McKay * Daily Telegraph *A superb account of Fleming’s Jamaica… well-researched, excellently written… Without Jamaica, it is safe to say, there would have been no Agent 007. * Financial Times *Matthew Parker's brilliant book Goldeneye is indispensable for anyone interested in the inner life of the enigmatic Ian Fleming and the whole James Bond phenomenon he created. -- Nicholas Rankin * author of Ian Fleming's Commandos *

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Book SynopsisThe final volume of the definitive authorised biography of one of the greatest American writers.A moving testament to one of the last century's greatest writers' Sunday TimesAt forty-nine, Saul Bellow was at the pinnacle of American letters he was rich, famous and critically acclaimed, with the best yet to come: Mr Sammler's Planet, Humboldt's Gift, all his best stories. He went on to win two more National Book Awards, a Pulitzer Prize, and the Nobel Prize. However, away from his desk, Bellow''s life was set to become embroiled in controversy: over foreign affairs, race, religion, education, social policy, the state of culture, the fate of the novel. From the women he pursued and his turbulent family relations, to his struggles with cultural relativism and the perceived excesses of civil rights movements, this second and final volume of Zachary Leader''s monumental Life of Saul Bellow charts Bellow''s heroic energy and will throughout his life, right to the end - where his immense achievements and their costs, to himself and others, became ever more apparent.''Brilliant'' Spectator''Compelling'' Times Literary Supplement''Riveting'' New Statesman''Superb'' New York TimesTrade ReviewLeader is our hyper-sensitive ammeter, charting the myriad effects of all this fame on his difficult, brilliant subject. A great feat of scholarship and, at the end, a moving testament to one of the last century’s greatest writers. -- Claire Lowdon * Sunday Times, **Literary Book of the Year** *This will stand as the definitive account. Leader talked to the surviving three wives and drew on the memories of Bellow’s three sons, as well as more than 100 friends (and one or two enemies) and devout literary progeny including Martin Amis and the critic James Wood. -- Tim Adams * Observer *This second volume of biography perfectly captures the spirit of a complex genius… Bellow calls for a sensitive balance between censure and understanding, to avoid overshadowing his genius, and it is hard to imagine anyone doing it better [than Zachary Leader]. -- George Walden * Evening Standard *Book of the Week* *Zachary Leader’s monumental biography of Saul Bellow…[is] minutely researched and clear-eyed… Leader is wholly steeped in Bellow’s oeuvre and able to find all the fictional equivalents of the real people who filled his life. -- John Mullan * Guardian *Leader’s portrait manages to be both subtle and even-handed… Leader’s two-volume biography is an astonishingly detailed and thoughtful record of an important life. -- Benjamin Markovits * Spectator *

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