Provides in-depth analysis of the life, works, career, and critical importance of Daphne du Maurier.

Provides in-depth analysis of the life, works, career, and critical importance of Flann O'Brien.

Provides in-depth analysis of the life, works, career, and critical importance of D. H. Lawrence.

"An irresistible, nostalgic, and insightful--and totally original--ramble through classic children's literature from Vanity Fair contributing editor (and father) Bruce Handy. In 1690, the dour New England Primer, thought to be the first American children's book, was published in Boston. Offering children gems of advice such as "Strive to learn" and "Be not a dunce, " it was no fun at all. So how did we get from there to "Let the wild rumpus start"?...

"'I have been writing about death for as long as I have been writing.' [Danticat's] book moves outward from the shock of her mother's [cancer] diagnosis and sifts through Danticat's writing life and personal history, all the while shifting ... from examples that range from Gabriel García Márquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude to Toni Morrison's Sula. The narrative, which continually circles the many incarnations of death from individual to large-scale...

Students of literature, film and cultural studies need to understand key theoretical terms and concepts but often find it hard to get to grips with exactly what they mean. This book provides precise definitions of terms and concepts in literary theory, along with explanations of the major movements and figures in literary and cultural theory and an extensive bibliography. It is designed for the student who needs to know what a particular term means,...

What does it mean when a fictional hero takes a journey? Shares a meal? Get drenched in a sudden rain shower? Often, there is much more going on in a novel or poem than is readily visible on the surface -- a symbol, maybe, that remains elusive, or an unexpected twist on a character - and there's that sneaking suspicion that the deeper meaning of a literary text keeps escaping you. In this practical and amusing guide to literature, Thomas C. Foster...