Literary Criticism

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...

Michael Servetus is one of history's hidden geniuses. In the mid sixteenth century, at a time when the orthodox church taught a doctrine of predestination, he wrote a book arguing...

D. H. Lawrence wrote in 1914, 'Primarily I am a passionately religious man, and my novels must be written from the depths of my religious experience.' Although he had broken...

From the novels to the screen, from adaptions to filming secrets, dive into the world of Jane Austen. Discover her life, inspirations, correspondence and the incredible influence of her work...

Based on thousands of pages of typed and handwritten notes, journal entries, letters, and story sketches, The Exegesis of Philip K. Dick is the magnificent and imaginative final work of...

A veteran of four decades of library service and one of today's leading library thinkers, Michael Gorman opens a discussion on library values--those that are rooted in historical perspective and...

Zombies want brains. Vampires want blood. Cannibals want human flesh. All monsters need feeding.Horror has been embraced by mainstream pop culture more than ever before, with horror characters and aesthetics...

Dan Brown's thriller The Da Vinci Code has created an extraordinary Christian controversy, with its sub-plots of the feminine in religion, the bloodline of Christ, the legend of the Holy...

Mumsnet 'Best Books for Christmas 2016''Ideal for anyone who has ever wondered what on earth to read next' SJ WATSON'Witty, engaging and informative. The sort of book you choose for...

In her collection of autobiographical essays, fashion magazine editor Justine Cullen takes us on a hilariously candid exploration of her life so far - and all the mistakes she's made...

The cult phenomenon Battle Royale has been lauded as a masterpiece and decried as exploitative gore, but it's always remained in the public consciousness. This collection of essays by some...

PRE-ORDER THE SUNDAY TIMES TOP 10 BESTSELLER NOW AVAILABLE IN PAPERBACKDiscover the work of the greatest writer in the English language as you've never encountered it before in internationally renowned...

What is a place? A place where things happened, horrible things, the traces of which have been erased? Ukraine, for a long time, has been filled with these 'inconvenient places'...

What is the role of the writer? Prophet? High Priest of Art? Court Jester? Or witness to the real world? Looking back on her own childhood and writing career, Margaret...

Denis Donoghue has been a key figure in Irish studies and an important public intellectual in Ireland, the UK and US throughout his career. These essays represent the best of...