Literature & Poetry

This book draws on the philosopher Rene Girard to argue that three twentieth-century American novels (Jeffrey Eugenides's The Virgin Suicides, Rick Moody's The Ice Storm, and Richard Yates's Revolutionary Road) are tragedies.

Until now, Girardian literary analysis has generally focused on representations ...

Jo Shapcott's award-winning first three collections, gathered in Her Book: Poems 1988-1998, revealed her to be a writer of ingenuous, politically acute and provocative poetry, and rightly earned her a reputation as one of the most original and daring voices of her generation.

When Dr. John Watson takes lodgings in Baker Street with the quirky consulting detective Sherlock Holmes, they are both quickly drawn into a mysterious case that has left Scotland Yard baffled. A man is found dead in a south London house, his face a mask of horror, but there are no signs of violence. ...

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Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is a novella written by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson and published in 1886. London lawyer John Gabriel Utterson decides to investigate the appearance of the brutish and evil Edward Hyde, which leads him back to his old friend, Dr Henry Jekyll.

This volume of selected poems celebrates his finest poetry written over forty years, from 1970s teenage poems up to his 2012 acclaimed The Venice Suite: A Voyage Through Loss, and including previously unpublished new work.

No space of regret can make amends for one life's opportunity misused. A Christmas Carol is one of the most beloved and heart-warming Christmas tales of all time. Ebenezer Scrooge is a greedy and unsympathetic man who has no time for Christmas. "If I could work my will," said Scrooge indignantly, "Every ...

'Pure appetite,' he writes ironically early in the collection, 'I wouldn't know anything about that.' And the following poem answers: Down there the little star-nosed engine of desire at work all night, secretive: in the morninga new line running across the wet grass, near the surface, like a vein.

Third collection by acclaimed Scottish poet, shortlisted for the T.S. Eliot Prize and a Poetry Book Society Choice. Herd's debut No Hiding Place was shortlisted for the Forward Prize for Best First Collection, and her second, Dead Redhead, was a Poetry Book Society Recommendation.

A beautifully illustrated collection of poems from the Poet Laureate

How did social, cultural and political events in Britain during the 1990s shape contemporary British Fiction?

From the fall of the Berlin Wall to the turn of the millennium, the 1990s witnessed a realignment of global politics. Against the changing international scene, this volume uses events abroad ...

This volume offers an accessible and thought-provoking guide to this major Renaissance tragedy, surveying its key themes and evolving critical responses over the course of nearly four centuries. Providing a uniquely detailed and up-to-date account of the play's rich stage history, it demonstrates how ...

From the trauma of September 11th, through the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, to the aftermath of the Arab Spring and the environmental warning signs of climate change, this book reflects on the crises and terrifying events of the early 21st century and argues that a knowledge of tragedy from the works ...

Eating Shakespeare provides a constructive critical analysis of the issue of Shakespeare and globalization and revisits understandings of interculturalism, otherness, hybridity and cultural (in)authenticity. Featuring scholarly essays as well as interviews and conversation pieces with creatives - including ...

Often described as one of Shakespeare's 'problem plays', Measure for Measure explores issues of mercy and justice in corrupt Vienna. The Duke makes his strict moralistic deputy, Angelo, temporary leader of Vienna, while he disguises himself as a friar to witness all that ensues.

In the comprehensive ...

It is a truth universally acknowledged that most of us could use some guidance. Whether you're looking to marry a man with several carriages to his name, are recovering from an illness caused by wet stockings or you're unsure what colour ribbon is the best match for your outfit, Jane Austen's wisdom ...