Literary Criticism

Looking at Paris between 1900 and 1940, this book explores the lives and work of 24 English, American and French women whose energy and creativity as well as literary output...

'A breathtakingly hilarious and absorbing portrait of one of the most brilliant, dotty, dippy delirious yet ultimately inspiring eccentrics in British history . . . A remarkable story of cultural...

From the Sunday Times no. 1 bestselling author of Politics on the Edge and co-host of The Rest Is Politics'A rare and life-affirming story of searching and finding our place...

In this exuberant book, the incomparable Ray Bradbury shares the wisdom, experience, and excitement of a lifetime of writing. The first thing a writer should be is - excited Author...

** AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER NOW ** From the bestselling author of Mayflies and Caledonian Road, a heart-enriching celebration of what makes us great: our friends.If we are lucky in our...

Once upon a time, there was a tower on a hill, beyond the dark trees, somewhere north. An octagonal tower on two levels: glass upstairs and stone below, beneath a...

*A Sunday Times, Irish Times, Financial Times, Independent, Daily Mail, TLS, Economist, Prospect, Evening Standard and New Statesman Book of the Year 2024*Can you remember the first time you fell...

'As someone who fell off a chair not long ago trying to hear what they were saying at the next table in a restaurant, I suppose I am obsessively interested...

In his essay on the Notebooks of Tennessee Williams, Colm Toibin reveals an artist 'alone and deeply fearful and unusually selfish' and one profoundly tormented by his sister's mental illness....

Featuring 100 captivating portraits of many of Ireland's greatest contemporary writers, alongside conversations with each on their writing life, Scribendi is a landmark book of portraits of Irish writers by...

Chuck Klosterman has become the pop culture commentator of his time. Now, our favourite popular phenomenon offers new introductions, outros, segues, and footnotes around a collection sure to enlarge his...

'This book is an excellent place to start. I love it and hope your copy becomes as dog-eared with overuse as many of my old ones did.' David CohenThis bestselling...

The Art of Counselling is an insightful guide for all who work in professions where counselling is a key part of their work: for doctors who often need to counsel...

The global turmoil of the late 1980s and early 1990s severely tested every analyst and commentator. Few wrote with such insight as Christopher Hitchens about the large events - or...

This lucid and elegantly written book is a sustained conversation about the nature and importance of literary interpretation. Distinguished critic Denis Donoghue argues that we must read texts closely and...

The works of Shakespeare have become staples of literature. They are everywhere, from our early schooling to the lecture rooms of academia, from classic theatre to modern adaptations on stage...

A WATERSTONES BEST POLITICS BOOK OF 2024This is an exceptional moment for democracy.In the year of elections, read Margaret Atwood, Mary Beard, Lea Ypi, Elif Shafak and more on what...

More than just a walking guide, The Ulysses Guide: Tours Through Joyce's Dublin provides a guide to James Joyce's novel Ulysses by following its eighteen episodes on their original locations,...

Composer, pianist and writer Erik Satie was one of the great figures of Belle Epoque Paris. Known for his unvarying image of bowler hat, three-piece suit and umbrella, Satie was...

One of O, The Oprah Magazine's Ten Best Books of the Year The New York Times bestselling collection of essays from beloved poet, Mary Oliver."There's hardly a page in my...

90 Classic titles celebrating 90 years of Penguin BooksDuring his reign, Lord Cobham was burnt alive, but I forget what for. In Jane Austen's breezy and entirely biased telling of...

Beginning with a dilemma about whether he spends more money on reading or smoking, George Orwell's entertaining and uncompromising essays go on to explore everything from the perils of second-hand...

90 classic titles celebrating 90 years of Penguin Books'All art,' Oscar Wilde once announced, 'is quite useless.' Selected here are some of his finest prose works on the subject of...

Israel's pulverization of Gaza since October 7, 2023 is not only a humanitarian crisis, but an environmental catastrophe. Far from the first event of its kind, the devastation Israel has...

In this compelling and influential work, Joseph Campbell scours the myths of the world to reveal the characteristics common to heroes from all cultures and periods. Mankind has always used...

'Keep Moving speaks to you like an encouraging friend reminding you that you can feel and survive deep loss, sink into life's deep beauty and constantly make yourself new' Glennon...

From the creator of UlyssesGuide.com, this essential guide to James Joyce's masterpiece weaves together plot summaries, interpretive analyses, scholarly perspectives, and historical and biographical context to create an easy-to-read, entertaining,...

Arctic and Antarctic travel writing has seized the popular imagination for the last three hundred years. Emphasizing themes of endurance, danger and self-sacrifice, tales from the poles are testimony both...

Annie Ernaux's father died exactly two months after she passed her exams for a teaching certificate. Barely educated and valued since childhood strictly for his labour, Ernaux's father had grown...

An absolutely joyous, gasp-out-loud achievement. - Stephen FryA cathedral of consciousness - Shakespeare's uncanny insight into human nature finds us, unearthed here. - LionHeart, artist, poet, and BBC Radio London...

Ursula K. Le Guin witnessed and contributed to many of the twentieth century's rebellions and upheavals, including women's liberation, the Civil Rights movement and US anti-war and environmental activism. Spanning...

The most trusted anthology for complete works and helpful editorial apparatus. The Tenth Edition supports survey and period courses with NEW complete major works, NEW contemporary writers, and dynamic and...

A landmark, incendiary collection from one of the leading essayists working today.Inspiring everyone from radical activists to Beyonce Knowles, Rebecca Solnit's essay 'Men Explain Things to Me' has become a...

A provocative and absorbing analysis of the unprecedented eruption of misogyny at the turn of the century in the works of the key artists of the age. Illustrated throughout.