Böcker i Landmarks of World Literature-serien

This is a radical introduction to the Life of Johnson. It discusses the main structural, dramatic, historical and imaginative aspects of the work, and establishes its intellectual contexts: Hume's philosophy, earlier biographical writings by Boswell, and the French and German Enlightenment and romantic traditions.

This study places the novel, first published in 1830, in the context of its time and highlights the interpretration of the personal and the fictional in Stendhal's writing. The realism of the novel is derived from an incorporation of history and legal reportage.

This is the first critical study of Sons and Lovers to engage with the new Cambridge edition, which prints for the first time the whole text that Lawrence wrote, restoring the substantial cuts made by the first editor.

Scott's Waverley (1814), set in and around the Jacobite Rising in the Scotland of 1745-6, was the first historical novel in world literature. In this study, Richard Humphrey traces and accounts for the text's broad impact on and shows its originality in tackling the manifold issues of rebellion and warfare, separatism and union, prejudice and cultural tolerance.

This volume offers an accessible and stimulating introduction to one of the most influential texts of western literature. This guide highlights Milton's imaginative daring as he boldly revises the epic tradition, brilliantly elaborates upon Genesis, and shapes his ambitious narrative in order to retell the story of the Fall. The book considers the heretical dimensions of Paradise Lost and its theology, while situating Milton's great poem in its literary, religious, and political contexts. A concluding chapter addresses the influence of Milton's sublime poem as a source of creative inspiration for later writers, from the Restoration to the Romantics. Finally, the volume offers an extremely useful and updated guide to further reading, which students will find invaluable.

This introductory study presents Racine's Phedre as the culmination of French classical tragedy. It situates the play in its historical, literary and theatrical context, shows its relationship with other tragedies of Racine, and sketches its influence on later European literature.

This study focuses on the Bible as a landmark of literature, showing both how it has influenced writers through the ages and how it in turn has been influenced by contemporary literature.

Journey to the End of the Night is a novel of sauage, exultant misanthropy, full of cynical humor and of the blackest pessimism in respect of humanity. In this detailed study, John Sturrock shows why Celine's extraordinary work should be acknowledged one of the chief literary landmarks of the twentieth century.

Conrad's great novel is a rich study not only of a typical South American country, but of the politics of any underdeveloped country, and for this reason it is permanently topical. Ian Watt addresses Conrad's concerns when writing the work, and provides an accessible introduction, taking account of background, history and politics, and reception and influence.