Books by Steven Earnshaw

Looks at the nineteenth-century convergence of a new kind of excessive, habitual drinking, and a new way of thinking about the self, which we came to label 'existential'. -- .

Explains and explores key themes and ideas, guiding the reader towards an understanding of demanding material. This guide begins with the question of 'What is Existentialism?' and then moves on to provide an analysis of the key thinkers, writers and texts - both philosophical and literary - central to existentialism.

Realism is an essential concept in literary studies, yet for a variety of reasons it has not received the attention and clarity it deserves, often being dismissed as 'too slippery' to be of use. This accessible study remedies that failing for students and scholars of English Literature and Literary Theory alike, plainly setting out what realism is, the issues surrounding it, and its role in other major literary modes such as modernism and postmodernism. Beginning Realism gives detailed coverage of the nineteenth-century realist novel through its focus on novels by Gaskell, Eliot, Trollope, Dickens, Mrs Oliphant, Thackeray and Zola. As well as discussing 'the novel', the book also includes chapters on the use of realism in drama and poetry and a chapter on 'the language of realism', another aspect often overlooked in analysis of the concept.