Books in the York Notes Companions series

Exploring the range and diversity of twentieth-century American literature, this volume discusses classic works of drama, prose and poetry, as well as key topics such as the American city, masculinities, race and the American home. Key texts include: Tender is the Night, Light in August,'A True Account of Talking to the Sun at Fire Island' and Long Day's Journey into Night.

An accessible and wide-ranging introduction to the era, this Companion explores influential dramatic works by Ibsen, Shaw and Wilde; the poetry of mourning; novelistic genres, including social problem novels and sensation fiction; and the literature of the fin de siècle's aesthetes and decadents. Cultural and historical debates - focussing on empire, national identity, science and evolution, print culture and gender - supply essential context alongside discussion of relevant critical theory.

The literature of the Romantic era is steeped in the politics of revolution and reaction. This Companion looks at first and second generation poets such as Wordsworth, Blake, Byron and Shelley and explores their engagement with the turbulent history of their times. Other genres such as drama, fiction and travel writing are also discussed, with close attention paid to texts by Walpole, Austen and Mary Wollstonecraft. Combining thematic analysis with modern critical perspectives, the volume also includes key contextual sections focusing on "Imagination, Truth and Reason", "Heroes and Anti-heroes" and "Faith, Myth and Doubt".

This volume mines the diversity and richness of the literature and literary theory produced in the postcolonial era, discussing texts and ideas from all over the world such Heart of Darkness, Wide Sargasso Sea, The Mimic Men, Beloved and the poetry collection Born to Slow Horses. Topics such as race, gender and sexuality, globalisation and multiculturalism are featured alongside postcolonial reading practices and explorations of key concepts such as cross-cultural paradigms, hybridity and decolonisation.

This volume discusses the many ages of Children's Literature, from fairy tales and early didactic literature through to the classics of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and the modern day. Genres such as realism, fantasy, young adult literature and picture books are examined alongside debates on race, ideology, criticism and the future of Children's Literature. Featuring discussions of key texts such asAlice's Adventures in Wonderland,Swallows and Amazons, Forever, The Illustrated Mum, Where the Wild Things Are andThe Cat in the Hat.

From Restoration poets and playwrights Dryden, Rochester and Behn, through to the great eighteenth-century novelists and satirists Richardson, Burney and Defoe, this volume discusses the key literary developments of the age. Covering important topics of debate, such as trade, expansion and slavery, nature, liberty, and print culture, this York Notes Companion also incorporates relevant critical theory throughout for a complete and wide-ranging introduction.

The literature of the second half of the twentieth century is characterised by a tension between conservatism and innovation. This volume examines the key writers and genres that explore this idea, including the postmodern novels of Julian Barnes, Angela Carter and Graham Swift, the modern lyrics of Philip Larkin, Sylvia Plath and Stevie Smith, and the inventive dramas of Samuel Beckett, Caryl Churchill and Tom Stoppard. Chapters focussing on "Nostalgia and Nationality", "Class and Education" and "Sex and Identity" provide important historical and social context, and combine with a range of key critical approaches to provide an indispensable guide to the era.