Literary Criticism

History is filled with unacceptable noises: high pitch, gossip, talkativeness, hysteria, wailing and ritual shouts. Who makes them? Those deviant from or deficient in the masculine ideal of self-control: women,...

Revised and enlarged, this edition of John Moriarty's first published work presents a book of revelations, meditated by stories and personal excursions in literture, philosophy and sacred writings.

Winner of the Samuel Johnson PrizeHow did Shakespeare go from being a talented poet and playwright to become one of the greatest writers who ever lived? In this one exhilarating...

HarperCollins is proud to present its incredible range of best-loved, essential classics. The only advice, indeed, that one person can give another about reading is to take no advice, to...

HarperCollins is proud to present its incredible range of best-loved, essential classics. 'A good essay must have this permanent quality about it; it must draw its curtain round us, but...

Blending memories and family myths, Mary McCarthy takes us back to the 1920s, when she was orphaned into a world of relations as colourful, potent and mysterious as the Catholic...

A deeply moving and mind-expanding collection of personal essays in the first ever work of non-fiction from #1 internationally bestselling author John GreenThe Anthropocene is the current geological age, in...

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....

'Gay has an ability to blend the personal and political in a way that feels simultaneously gentle and brutal . . . you look at a cultural moment through Gay's...

'This marvel of a book is a profound meditation on the precariousness of the planet ... these pieces kept bringing tears to my eyes, catching me offguard ... it is...

A TRUE STORY THAT HAS TOUCHED THE HEARTS OF THOUSANDS'Unmitigated delight from cover to cover' DAILY TELEGRAPH 'A real-life love story . . . A timeless period piece. Do read...

'Maeve's Times is funny and clever and kind, which are excellent qualities in both books and people' Irish Times'As someone who fell off a chair not long ago trying to...

Francis Bacon was one of the iconic figures of modern art, a painter who transformed the way we see and experience the human body. Mirroring Bacon's famous triptychs, Jonathan Littell's...

'Inspiring' - Cathy Rentzenbrink, author of Write It All Down'Fascinating and useful' - Joe Moran, author of First You Write A SentenceBestselling and award-winning authors share the secrets to their...

'A hugely entertaining and well-written tour of the links between math and literature. Hart's lightness of touch and passion for both subjects make this book a delight to read. Bookworms...

The words of its writers are part of the texture of Dublin, an invisible counterpart to the bricks and pavement we see around us. Beyond the ever-present footsteps of James...

A collection of previously unpublished letters from America's cult icon on the art of writing.Charles Bukowski was one of our most iconoclastic, raw and riveting writers, one whose stories, poems...

'This is the Pandora's Box of self-help books.' - Conan O'BrienOne of this generation's hottest and boldest young comedians, Daniel Sloss presents a transgressive and hilarious analysis of all of...

A Sunday Times BestsellerChristopher Hitchens (1949-2011) was a matchless writer, debater and humanist. Throughout his life he shone the light of reason and truth into the eyes of charlatans and...

Twentieth Anniversary Edition with Contributions from Joe Hill and Owen King Immensely helpful and illuminating to any aspiring writer, this special edition of Stephen King's critically lauded, million-copy bestseller shares...

"Elena Ferrante has established herself as the foremost writer in Italy - and the world." THE SUNDAY TIMESA delightful collection of original essays on reading and writing. From the internationally...

Who was Shakespeare? Why has his writing endured? What makes it so endlessly adaptable to different times and cultures? And how has Shakespeare come to be such a powerful symbol...

This anthology of personal essays explore how video games have shaped our lives, our cultural imagination and contemporary storytelling. From novelists and critics to game designers themselves, the writers in...

From Achebe and Austen to Zola and Zweig, and from the Epic of Gilgamesh to twenty-first century dystopias and autofiction, here is the complete list of every Penguin Classic in...

An indispensable companion for readers, writers, and even casual users of the language, the Penguin Modern Classics edition of Kingsley Amis's The King's English features a new introduction by Martin...

Bobette Buster is a story consultant, lecturer and screenwriter who works with the major studios and in top film programs all over the world. In this, her first book, she...

Since the publication of Thomas More's genre-defining work Utopia in 1516, the field of utopian literature has evolved into an ever-expanding domain. This Companion presents an extensive historical survey of...

Writing Short Stories: A Writers' and Artists' Companion is an essential guide to writing short fiction successfully. PART 1 explores the nature and history of the form, personal reflections by...

This textbook series is ambitious in scope. It provides concise and lucid introductions to major works of world literature from classical antiquity to the twentieth century. It is not confined...

Featuring numerous updates and additional anthology selections, the 3rd edition of Introduction to Old English confirms its reputation as a leading text designed to help students engage with Old English...

This work is a selection from Susan Sontag's early writings about the arts and contemporary culture. First published in 1966, the book quickly became a modern classic and has had...

'A literary and deeply heartfelt exploration of an under-appreciated genre. It is heaven from start to finish'INDIA KNIGHT, The Times'This book is funny, wise, and joyfully obsessed with its subject'MONICA...

From the Middle Ages to the twenty-first century, The Norton Anthology of English Literature, Eleventh Edition, showcases exciting new authors, works, and textual clusters that demonstrate the relevance of literature...

Samuel Beckett's celebrated early study of Marcel proust, whose theories of time were to play a large part in his own work, was written in 1931. It is a brilliant...

Abdelkebir Khatibi (1938-2009) was among the most renowned North African literary critics and authors of the past century whose unique treatments of subjects as vast as orientalism, otherness, coloniality, aesthetics,...

From the 2024 winner of the International Booker Prize, a collection of short essays on the places, people, rituals and objects that slip into the realm of memory.The Palace of...

Includes the following works: Novels-The Portrait of Dorian Gray; Plays-Salome and The Importance of Being Earnest; Writings-De Profundis, Critic as Artist, and Phrases and Philosophies for the Use of the...