In Understanding Chang-rae Lee, Amanda M. Page provides the first critical survey of the work of one of America’s most acclaimed contemporary novelists. Chang-rae Lee, the Ward W. and Priscilla B. Woo
Ward (English, Brown U. and Emerson College) examines the life and works of Herlihy, an important but neglected gay American fiction writer, actor, and playwright. Beginning with Herlihy's time at Bla
"Understanding Dave Eggers surveys the work of one of the most celebrated American authors of the twenty-first century and is the first book-length study incorporating Eggers's novels, short-story col
The winner of every major American literary prize, John Updike (1932-2009) was one of the most popular and prolific novelists of his time and a major cultural figure who traced the high point and fall
The first thematic series published for American literature, THE WADSWORTH THEMES IN AMERICAN LITERATURE SERIES is currently comprised of 21 themes spanning the time period normally covered in the tw
In a prose form as startling as its content, The Shutter of Snow portrays the post-partum psychosis of Marthe Gail, who after giving birth to her son, is committed to an insane asylum. Believing herse
Understanding Sharon Olds explores this Pulitzer Prize–winning poet’s major themes, characters, life, and career, including her often-controversial portrayals of family dysfunction, sexuality, and vio
Understanding Colum McCann chronicles the Irish-born writer's journey to literary celebrity from his days as a teenage sportswriter for the Irish Press in the 1970s, through the publication of his awa
With the publication of Susan Sontag's diaries, the development of her career can now be evaluated in a more genetic sense, so that the origins of her ideas and plans for publication are made plain in
Walter Mosley is perhaps best known for his first published mystery, Devil in a Blue Dress, which became the basis for the 1995 movie of the same name featuring Denzel Washington. Mosley has since wri
Gerald Alva Miller Jr.'s Understanding William Gibson is a thoughtful examination of the life and work of William Gibson, author of eleven novels and twenty short stories. Gibson is the recipient of m
Understanding Paul Auster is a comprehensive companion to the work of a writer who effectively balances a particular combination of Jewish American identity and European sensibility across an impressi
