W. G. Sebald was a literary phenomenon: a German literary scholar working in England, who took up creative writing out of dissatisfaction with German post-war letters. Within only a few years, his uni
Penelope Fitzgerald (1916-2000) has been acclaimed as one of the finest British novelists of the late twentieth century. Four of her novels were shortlisted for the Booker Prize and one of them, Offsh
Penelope Fitzgerald (1916-2000) has been acclaimed as one of the finest British novelists of the late twentieth century. Four of her novels were shortlisted for the Booker Prize and one of them, Offsh
W. G. Sebald was a literary phenomenon: a German literary scholar working in England, who took up creative writing out of dissatisfaction with German post-war letters. Within only a few years, his uni
Recounting his 1897-98 Klondike Gold Rush experience Jack London stated: “It was in the Klondike I found myself. There nobody talks. Everybody thinks. There you get your perspective. I got mine.” This
Martin Amis is one of the most important and distinctive writers of the last 30 years; this study provides a critical evaluation of all his work from his first novel, The Rachel Papers, to The Pregnan
Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre is one of the most famous novels in the world; its heroine’s spirited response to hardship and temptation has engaged an eager readership since its publication in 1847. Ja
Pre-Romantic Poetry intervenes powerfully in debates about eighteenth-century writing, Romanticism, and literary history. By arguing that 'pre-romanticism' exists to patrol the limits of 'romantic' wr
This study examines the whole of Frame's output starting with the fiction (novels, short stories and poems) before focusing on the two autobiographical novels, Owls Do Cry and Faces in the Water, to e
Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806-61) was one of the most important poets of the nineteenth century and has recently undergone a major critical reappraisal. In this study, Simon Avery considers a range
First published in 1994, Lyn Pykett's The Sensation Novel: from 'The Woman in White' to 'The Moonstone' charted the re-emergence into critical view of the nineteenth century fictional genre which had,
R.K. Narayan, an Indian author writing in English in the 1930s through the 1990s, is best know for his creation of the fictional Indian town of Malgudi, the setting for all 14 of his novels. Although
In this third edition of his popular volume on Heaney, Andrew Murphy offers an accessible and wide-ranging study of the poet's work, charting the trajectory of Heaney's career and placing his work wit
Bazin (English and commonwealth literature, Paris X Nanterre U., France) analyzes the work of New Zealand writer Janet Frame (1924-2004), starting with the two autobiographical novels Owls Do Cry and
The Jamaican writer, Olive Senior, has been writing and publishing since the 1980s. Her oeuvre includes poetry and short stories as well as journalism, a sociological study of Caribbean women and a co
The Jamaican writer, Olive Senior, has been writing and publishing since the 1980s. Her oeuvre includes poetry and short stories as well as journalism, a sociological study of Caribbean women and a co
This study offers a lively account of the Imagist Poets, the first significant group of modernist poets writing in English. It discusses what their writing achieved, and analyses the theoretical claim
Brian Friel is Ireland's leading living playwright, a fact that is easily observable on the billboards of Derry, Dublin, London and New York. These locations are also essential in understanding the ra
This study looks at Duffy's work from her early development and involvement with the Liverpool poets in the 1970s, through to her later published work. It concentrates on the way in which Duffy devel
Norman MacCaig, who died in 1996, is widely regarded as Scotland's finest contemporary poet, whose later poetry is both accessible and popular. This perceptive study places him in his literary and soc
Kandola (English, Liverpool John Moores U.) presents a study of the life and writings of British writer, Violet Paget (1856-1935), more famously known by her pen name Vernon Lee. Following a short bio
Browning has been identified as the greatest nineteenth century poet of human psychology, but the category most popular in his own time defined him as a poet of 'the grotesque'. In this book, John Woo
Sir Philip Sidney's experimentation and innovations in English verse marked the turning point in the development of sixteenth-century poetry, as did his theories on the status and function of imaginat
This new study of the work of Ted Hughes traces the stages of his development as a poet, from his powerful early collection, The Hawk in the Rain to his last award-winning translations. Hughes is see
Louis MacNeice is a key twentieth-century poet whose life exemplifies transitions and tensions between conflicting and overlapping commitments, be they aesthetic, national or institutional. This book
The novels and stories of Elizabeth Taylor (1912-75) have always had an enthusiastic following among the general reading public. This study aims to introduce her work, to trace some of its recurrent p
Douglas Dunn is one of the most widely-read and respected poets of his generation. In a career spanning over 30 years, he has refined lyric and elegiac poetry into an instrument with which to make acu
Rudyard Kipling was a Victorian and an early modernist, a disciplinarian imperialist who sympathized with children and outlaws, a globe-trotter who mythologized 'Old England', and a world-famous autho
This study discusses Adcock as a writer who draws on her experiences of dislocation in order to position herself between cultures. It relocates her work within the postwar British poetic mainstream by
William Blake was a revolutionary poet and artist. This study introduces a range of Blake's poetry and illuminated books from the early Songs to the late epics, and focuses on the socially radical and
The notion of thinking as an outsider, and the critical distance which this entails, is a key to an understanding of Desai as writer. Through discussions of short stories and novels, and references to
Richard III has the status of a monster in British culture, and the continuous popularity of Shakespeare's play has done much to foster this. Deformity and distortion operate through this myth on many
Philip Larkin is one of the finest English poets of our time. Lerner's study relates the poetry to Larkin's life, and to the literary and social environment of post-war Britain; discusses the Larkin p
By assessing what was original in Jane Austen's fictional technique in the context of the history of the novel, Professor Miles offers a fresh evaluation of how Austen came to be constructed as a mode
Smart is popularly known for having written his exuberant lyric 'A Song to David' and the cryptic 'Jubilate Agno' while locked away in a madhouse, then ending his days in a debator's jail. But this cl
Flann O'Brien was the best known pen name of Brian O'Nolan one of modern Ireland's most perplexing, subversive and underrated writers. This new study assesses the whole span of O'Noaln's achievement,
Jonathan Swift was a Church of Ireland priest and an Irish patriot, a poet, pamphleteer, and the greatest prose satirist in the English language. The surrealists regarded Swift as the true initiator o
William Langland is one of the most important authors of the middle ages and Piers Plowman, one of the most challenging and complex poems of all time. Written and revised in the last decades of the fo
