Books in the Cambridge Introductions to Literature series

This lively and accessible 2007 introduction discusses each of Shakespeare's history plays, and their distinctive characteristics, in turn: the three early Henry VI plays; Richard III; King John; Richard II; Henry IV 1 and 2; Henry V; and Henry VIII. An invaluable guide to these fascinating and complex plays.

Through the publication of Uncle Tom's Cabin, Harriet Beecher Stowe became one of the most famous and important authors in nineteenth-century America. This book provides a summary of Stowe's life and her long career as a professional author, as well as an overview of her writings in several different genres.

Designed to interest both students and scholars, The Cambridge Introduction to Victorian Poetry provides an accessible overview of British poetry from 1830 to 1901. It features a glossary of literary terms, a guide to further reading, and two examples of close readings of Victorian poems.

A new history of satire that brings foundational scholarship up to date with the theoretical and historical insights of literary studies from the last three decades, this book is a substantive introduction for undergraduate and graduate students, and an essential gateway to more advanced studies.

This introduction provides a fresh approach to the meaning and origins of performance theory for students, scholars and enthusiasts. Defining the key figures and terms within the field, Simon Shepherd ranges across theories and practices, from folklore studies to performativity to protests against road building.

This lively and innovative introduction to Shakespeare promotes active engagement with the plays, rather than recycling factual information. Covering a range of texts, it is divided into seven subject-based chapters: Character; Performance; Texts; Language; Structure; Sources and History, and it does not assume any prior knowledge. Instead, it develops ways of thinking and provides the reader with resources for independent research through the 'Where next?' sections at the end of each chapter. The book draws on scholarship without being overwhelmed by it, and unlike other introductory guides to Shakespeare it emphasizes that there is space for new and fresh thinking by students and readers, even on the most-studied and familiar plays.

This 2006 introduction to English theatre, including illustrative quotations and carefully selected visual images, guides the reader through the turbulent history of the stage from the restoration of Charles II to the death of Queen Victoria. A lively read, the book is ideal for students, teachers and lecturers alike.

This is a clear and informative introduction to Woolf's life, works, and cultural and critical contexts, covering the major works in detail, including To the Lighthouse, Mrs Dalloway, The Waves and the key short stories. All students of Woolf will find this a useful and illuminating overview of the field.

T. S. Eliot is not only one of the most important poets of the twentieth century; as literary critic and commentator on culture and society, his writing continues to be profoundly influential. This informative and accessible book provides the perfect introduction to Eliot's life and work.

The Cambridge Introduction to Twentieth-Century American Poetry is designed to give readers a brief but thorough introduction to the various movements, schools, and groups of American poets in the twentieth century. It will help readers to understand and analyze modern and contemporary poems.

This introduction not only provides an essential overview of the history and development of poetry in Ireland, but also offers new approaches to aspects of the field. Readers and students of Irish poetry will learn much from Quinn's sharp and critically acute account.

Gregg Crane tells the story of the American novel from its beginnings in the early republic to the end of the nineteenth century and discusses the genre's major figures, themes and developments. This comprehensive and stimulating introduction will enhance students' experience of reading and studying the canon of American fiction.

F. Scott Fitzgerald's reputation as a society figure of the 1920s continues to overshadow his art. This introduction shows readers why he deserves his preeminent place in literary history, for his masterpieces The Great Gatsby and Tender Is the Night, his finely drawn characters and plots, and his inimitable style.

This introduction delves behind the myth of the reclusive Emily Dickinson to present a poet who was deeply engaged with the issues of her day. Wendy Martin explores how Dickinson's personal struggles with love, faith, friendship and community shape her poetry.

Walt Whitman is one of the most innovative and influential American poets of the nineteenth century. Focusing on his masterpiece Leaves of Grass, this book provides a foundation for the study of Whitman.

Few thinkers of the twentieth century have so profoundly and radically transformed our understanding of writing and literature as Jacques Derrida (1930-2004). This book provides an accessible introduction to Derrida's writings on literature which presupposes no prior knowledge of his work.

This introduction offers an overview of tragic drama from the ancient Greeks, through Shakespeare, Racine and Ibsen, and to the present day. It explores the definition of 'tragedy', as it has been discussed by philosophers, and includes chapters on the Greeks, Shakespeare, Ibsen, Chekhov, post-colonial drama, and Beckett.

As the author of The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne has been established as a major writer of the nineteenth century. This book outlines his life and writings in a clear and accessible style. Students of nineteenth-century American literature will find this a rewarding and engaging introduction to this remarkable writer.

Despite its indifferent reception when it was first published in 1851, Moby Dick is now central to the American literary canon. Kevin J. Hayes provides comprehensive information about Melville's life and works in an accessible and engaging book that will be essential for students beginning to read this important author.

Elliott offers students a literary history of American writing in English between 1492 and 1820, as well as providing a concise social and cultural history of these three centuries. This highly engaging and comprehensive study will be essential reading for students of the literature, history and culture of early America.

This pioneering book introduces students to the practice and art of creative writing and creative reading. It offers a fresh, distinctive and beautifully written synthesis of the discipline. David Morley discusses where creative writing comes from, the various forms and camouflages it has taken, and why we teach and learn the arts of fiction, poetry and creative nonfiction. He looks at creative writing in performance; as public art, as visual art, as e-literature and as an act of community. As a leading poet, critic and award-winning teacher of the subject, Morley finds new engagements for creative writing in the creative academy and within science. Accessible, entertaining and groundbreaking, The Cambridge Introduction to Creative Writing is not only a useful textbook for students and teachers of writing, but also an inspiring read in its own right. Aspiring authors and teachers of writing will find much to discover and enjoy.

This Introduction provides an accessible overview of the life and work of Tom Stoppard, widely considered to be one of the most important dramatists of contemporary theatre. In concise and readable form, William Demastes introduces all the complexity and variety that makes Stoppard's work so unique.

The Cambridge Introduction to Spanish Poetry comprises an extended survey of poetry written in Spanish from the Middle Ages to the present day, including both Iberian and Latin American writing. This volume offers a non-chronological approach to the subject in order to highlight the continuity and persistence of genres and forms (epic, ballad, sonnet) and of themes and motifs (love, religious and moral poetry, satirical and pure poetry). It also supplies a thorough examination of the various interactions between author, text and reader. Containing abundant quotation, it gives a refreshing introduction to an impressive and varied body of poetry from two continents, and is an accessible and wide-ranging reference-work, designed specifically for use on undergraduate and taught graduate courses. The most comprehensive work of its kind available, it will be an invaluable resource for students and teachers alike.

Shows how the novel yields a special insight into the social and cultural history of Britain 1950-2000. Includes chapters on the state and the novel, class and social change, gender and sexual identity, national identity and multiculturalism. This is the most accessible, and wide-ranging introduction to the subject available.

This introduction presents the major themes, forms and styles of Russian poetry. Using examples from Russia's greatest poets, Wachtel draws on three centuries of verse, from the beginnings of secular literature in the eighteenth century to the present.

This is an eloquent and accessible introduction to one of the most important writers of the twentieth century. This book provides biographical and contextual information, but more fundamentally, it also considers how we might think about an enduringly difficult and experimental novelist and playwright who often challenges the very concepts of meaning and interpretation. It deals with his life, intellectual and cultural background, plays, prose, and critical response and relates Beckett's work and vision to the culture and context from which he wrote. McDonald provides a sustained analysis of the major plays, including Waiting for Godot, Endgame, and Happy Days and his major prose works including Murphy, Watt and his famous 'trilogy' of novels (Molloy, Malone Dies, The Unnamable). This introduction concludes by mapping the huge terrain of criticism Beckett's work has prompted, and it explains the turn in recent years to understanding Beckett within his historical context.

Ezra Pound is one of the most visible and influential poets of the twentieth century. He is also one of the most complex, his poetry containing historical and mythical allusions, experiments of form and style and often controversial political views. Yet Pound's life and work continue to fascinate. This Introduction, first published in 2005, is designed to help students reading Pound for the first time. Pound scholar Ira B. Nadel provides a guide to the rich webs of allusion and stylistic borrowings and innovations in Pound's writing. He offers a clear overview of Pound's life, works, contexts and reception history and his multidimensional career as a poet, translator, critic, editor, anthologist and impresario, a career that placed him at the heart of literary modernism. This invaluable and accessible introduction explains the huge contribution Pound made to the development of modernism in the early twentieth century.

Mark Twain is a central figure in nineteenth-century American literature, and his novels are among the best-known and most often studied texts in the field. This clear and incisive Introduction provides a biography of the author and situates his works in the historical and cultural context of his times. Peter Messent gives accessible but penetrating readings of the best-known writings including Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. He pays particular attention to the way Twain's humour works and how it underpins his prose style. The final chapter provides up-to-date analysis of the recent critical reception of Twain's writing, and summarises the contentious and important debates about his literary and cultural position. The guide to further reading will help those who wish to extend their research and critical work on the author. This book will be of outstanding value to anyone coming to Twain for the first time.

Margaret Atwood offers an immensely influential voice in contemporary literature. Her novels have been translated into over 22 languages and are widely studied, taught and enjoyed. Her style is defined by her comic wit and willingness to experiment. Her work has ranged across several genres, from poetry to literary and cultural criticism, novels, short stories and art. This Introduction summarizes Atwood's canon, from her earliest poetry and her first novel, The Edible Woman, through The Handmaid's Tale to The Year of the Flood. Covering the full range of her work, it guides students through multiple readings of her oeuvre. It features chapters on her life and career, her literary, Canadian and feminist contexts, and how her work has been received and debated over the course of her career. With a guide to further reading and a clear, well organised structure, this book presents an engaging overview for students and readers.

This Introduction surveys the full spectrum of postmodern culture - high and low, avant-garde and popular, famous and obscure - across a range of fields, from architecture and visual art to fiction, poetry, and drama. Comprehensive and accessible, this book is indispensable for scholars, students, and general readers interested in late twentieth-century culture.