Books in the Reader's Guides series

Explains the philosophical background against which the book was written and provides an overview of the key themes and motifs. This book guides the reader to a clear understanding of Heidegger's work as a whole. It explores the reception and influence of the work and offers the student guidance on further reading.

A guide to ten of Argentinian writer Jorge Luis Borges' best-known and widely studied short stories. It offers an analysis of such key terms in Borges' work as 'labyrinth' and the 'infinite' and analyses Borges' particular narrative strategies.

A staple of undergraduate courses in Classical Studies, Latin, English and Comparative Literature, Ovid's "Metamorphoses" is arguably one of the most important, canonical Latin texts. This title offers guidance on: literary, historical and cultural context; key themes; reading the text; reception and influence; and, further reading.

William Wordsworth continues to be one of the most popular and widely studied poets from the nineteenth century. This guide introduces readers to the literary, philosophical, and political contexts crucial to understanding Wordsworth's poetry, offering fresh approaches for reading his important poems in light of developments in literary studies.

Hans Urs von Balthasar (1905-1988) is one of the most significant and challenging of 20th century theologians. This guide shows how his reworking of theology around the transcendentals of being, the beautiful, the good and the true, is influenced not just by classical philosophy and theology but also by his involvement with contemporary figures.

A comprehensive student guide to studying Emily Bronte's classic novel "Wuthering Heights". It introduces its contexts, language, reception and adaptation since its first publication.

Margaret Atwood's popular dystopian novel "A Handmaid's Tale", engages the reader with a broad range of issues relating to power, gender and religious politics. This guide provides an overview of the key critical debates and interpretations of the novel and encourages you to engage with key questions and readings in your reading of the text.

Thomas Aquinas' major work, the "Summa Theologiae", is one of the most important theological works of the Middle Ages. This guide presents the basic principles that underlie the "Summa Theologiae" both as a whole and with respect to its three parts, and the varying treatises found within them.

Friedrich Nietzsche was arguably the most important and influential thinker of the nineteenth century. "The Birth of Tragedy", his first published work, is a classic text that remains an essential read for those seeking to understand the development of Nietzsche's ideas. This title offers an introduction to this important and yet challenging work.

In many regards the dialectical counterpart of the "Republic, the Symposium" is one of the richest and most influential of the Platonic dialogues, resonating not only with Western philosophy, but also with literature art and theology. This title presents an introduction to the text.

This is the ideal companion to study of this most influential and challenging of texts.

A guide to Mary Shelley's gothic novel, "Frankenstein" - a key text for introductory literature courses at undergraduate level. It is helpful for reading and studying the novel, setting it in its historical, intellectual and cultural contexts, and offering analyses of its themes, style and structure.

"Descartes' Meditations" is one of the most important texts in the whole history of philosophy. Descartes is widely regarded as the father of modern philosophy and the issues raised in the Meditations have often been taken to define the very nature of philosophy. This book offers an account of this philosophical work.

Thomas Kuhn's "The Structure of Scientific Revolutions" is arguably one of the influential books of the twentieth century and a key text in the philosophy and history of science. This guide offers an account of this key philosophical work. It provides a review of the key themes and a commentary that enables readers to navigate the text.

Emma is one of Jane Austen's popular novels, in large part due to the impact of Emma Woodhouse, the 'handsome, clever and rich' heroine. This guide to Emma explores the style, structure, themes, critical reputation and literary influence of Jane Austen's novel and also discusses its film and TV versions.

Contains Nietzsche's mature philosophy of the free spirit.

"A Thousand Plateaus" is the engaging and influential second part of "Capitalism and Schizophrenia", the remarkable collaborative project written by the philosopher Gilles Deleuze and the psychoanalyst Felix Guattari. This guide offers an introduction to this hugely important and yet challenging work.

Provides introductions to classic works of philosophy. This book guides the reader to an understanding of the text as a whole, exploring the reception and influence of this philosophical work.

Part of a series in which each book explores the themes, philosophical context and passages of a philosophical text, this book provides an exposition of the famous "Argument to Design". It aims to prove the existence of a designing intelligence or God from Nature's phenomena, notably the functional contrivance of the parts of plants and animals.

John Locke's "Essay Concerning Human Understanding" is a classic text, which laid out the basic principles of the Empiricism that was to characterise British Philosophy for centuries to come. This work explains the philosophical background against which the book was written and the key themes inherent in the text.

First published in 1801, Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit has exercised considerable influence on subsequent thinkers, from Marx and Kierkegaard to Heidegger, Kojeve, Adorno and Derrida. "

Schopenhauer's "The World as Will and Representation" is widely considered to be one of the most important and influential texts in nineteenth-century German philosophy. This title introduces students to the context, key themes and influence of Schopenhauer's major work, a key text in 19th Century German thought.

Offers an account of Aristotle's "Nicomachean Ethics" - a key philosophical work. This book sets Aristotle's work in context, introduces the major themes and provides a detailed discussion of the key sections and passages of the text. It goes on to explore some of the areas of thought that the "Nicomachean Ethics" has impacted upon.

Offers an account of the key philosophical work. This book sets Plato's work in context, introduces the major themes and provides a discussion of the key sections and passages of the text. It explores some of the areas of thought that the Republic has impacted upon and provides useful information on further reading.

Provides an account of the philosophical and historical context of Wittgenstein's work - "Tractatus". This book provides a detailed outline of the themes and structure of the text, guiding the reader towards an understanding of this remarkable text. It explores the reception and influence of the work and offers a detailed guide to further reading.

"Aristotle's Metaphysics" is an extremely rich and important philosophical work, unique in that it is an inquiry devoted to discovering a doctrine, rather than a treatise that defends a doctrine. This title presents an introduction to the text, offering guidance on: philosophical context; key themes; reading the text; and, reception and influence.