Literary Criticism

People have always been fascinated by the bull, its violent beauty and innate appeal as a symbol of sexual power. And the elaborate choreography of the bullfight also provides an...

The puppet creates delight and fear. It may evoke the innocent play of childhood, or become a tool of ritual magic, able to negotiate with ghosts and gods. Puppets can...

A visionary, a craftsman, a comedian ... He can do anything with a piece of prose, and it is a humbling experience to see him go to work on what...

Dine with beloved writers in this 'utterly charming' (Nina Stibbe) new anthology of their very own favourite recipes, introduced by Bee Wilson.Agatha Christie's hot bean salad.Jack Kerouac's green pea soup.Allen...

While travelling through the Great Alfoeld, the vast plain in south-eastern Hungary, Esther Kinsky stops in a small town near the Romanian border. Like many other things, the cinema, 'mozi'...

November 2013 marks the 50th anniversary of the death of Clive Staples 'Jack' Lewis, when a memorial to him will be placed in Poet's Corner in Westminster Abbey. Although perhaps...

This critical magnum opus, unprecedented in Shakespeare studies for its scope and daring, is nothing less than an attempt to show the Complete Works - dramatic and poetic - as...

Over the past twenty years, Neil Gaiman has developed into the premier fantasist of his generation, achieving that rarest of combinations - unrivaled critical respect and extraordinary commercial success. From...

This title comes with a foreword by Neil Gaiman. Terry Pratchett has earned a place in the hearts of readers the world over with his bestselling Discworld series - but...

The advent of Gorbachev has marked a new stage in East-West relations, sometimes described as the New Detente'. How is this new phase different from the detente of the 1970s?...

This book surveys the early history of one of our most important modern myths: the story of Frankenstein and the monster he created from dismembered corpses, as it appeared in...

'Rich, authoritative, and highly readable ... [a] tour de force' David KynastonChairman Mao was a librarian. Stalin was a published poet. Evelyn Waugh served as a commando - before leaving...

They're called the classics for good reason. Whether they're a work of wacky imagination, a piercing insight into social and cultural traditions at the time of writing, or simply a...

This is part of a new series of guides to contemporary novels. The aim of the series is to give readers accessible and informative introductions to some of the most...

If we could ask a Romantic reader of new poetry in 1820 to identify the most celebrated poet of the day after Byron, the chances are that he or she...

Like John Updike, Martin Amis is the pre-eminent novelist-critic of his generation. The War Against Cliche is a selection of his reviews and essays over the past quarter-century. It contains...

'Charmingly provocative' Observer 'A smorgasbord of delights' Irish Times'Addictive' The SpectatorIn my case, reading has always served a dual purpose. In a positive sense, it offers sustenance, enlightenment, the bliss...

This book was written with a view to sorting our some of the muddles and misreadings - especially misreadings of Kant - that have charaterized recent postmodernist and post-structuralist thought....

Definitions of the Romantic period have undergone considerable change in the last few years. Beyond the careers of the 'Big Six' (Blake, Wordsworth, Byron, Coleridge, Shelley and Keats), critics have...

Haunted houses, bitter revenants and muffled heartbeats under floorboards - the American gothic is a macabre tale based on a true story. Part memoir and part cultural critique, Darkly reveals...

This volume is a collaborative reassessment of the writing of John McGahern. The contributors provide provocative readings of his major works and also examine some of his lesser-known short stories,...

In this digitised age of shared information, it is easy to take for granted the power of the printed word. Here Melvyn Bragg presents a vivid reminder of the book...

Shedding new light on the rich intellectual and political milieux shaping the divergent legacies of Joyce and Yeats, Empire's Wake traces how a distinct postcolonial modernism emerged within Irish literature...

This study of Wiliam Trevor sheds light on this elusive character. It examines how his early years and background shaped his novels. It also evaluates the literary influences on his...

Stunning black and white photographs of Chapelizod and the Phoenix Park, with essays by leading Dublin Joyceans. This is a homage to James Joyce, whose last great masterpiece Finnegans Wake...

Sacred Monsters, Sacred Masters is a gallery of profiles of some of the most curious and creative figures that John Richardson has encountered during a career of more than fifty...

Italo Calvino was due to deliver the Charles Eliot Norton lectures at Harvard in 1985-86, but they were left unfinished at his death. The surviving drafts explore of the concepts...

Supporting the study of English literature from the Middle Ages to the present, this book is designed as an introductory text AND a helpful reference tool for an entire English...

From "The Alchemist" to "Thus Spake Zarathustra" and Achebe to Zola, "1001 Books" offers concise critical insights into the books and the writers that have excited the imagination of the...

Have you ever wondered why some people can produce a well-structured, relevant essay written in a style that seems to glide across the page with the minimum of fuss? Do...

'I have put this book together, not as a prose narrative is usually constructed, but as a poem might be. In turnings and returnings. In parts which find and repeat...

A marvellous book, lovingly edited, beautifully produced. . . and brimming with literary insights, much laughter, a sprinkle of gossip and the poet's insuppressible joie de vivre, even in adversity....