Böcker i Reader's Guides-serien

An invaluable guide to this classic text surveying the book's composition and central arguments, the intellectual context of its composition, and its continuing influence.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

Soren Kierkegaard was without question one of the most important and influential thinkers of the nineteenth century. "Fear and Trembling" is his classic text in the history that challenges readers with its original philosophical perspective and idiosyncratic literary style. This guide offers an introduction to this important work.

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.

Alain Badiou's "Being and Event" is one of the significant works of French philosophy. It is the magnum opus of a thinker who is widely considered to have reshaped the character and set new terms for the future development of philosophy in France and elsewhere. This book offers guidance on philosophical and intellectual context.

"Writing and Difference" is one of Jacques Derrida's most widely read and studied books. This book deals with the original French text and offers guidance on: philosophical and historical context; key themes; reading the text; reception and influence; and, further reading.

Enables the new reader of "Ulysses" to understand, analyse and appreciate the most famous, and famously 'difficult', novel of the twentieth century. This guide shows how Joyce reacted to the historical and cultural context in which he was situated. It is suitable for undergraduate students.

Tackles one of Sartre's challenging works "Being and Nothingness". This book gives a unified view of the (seemingly disparate) topics discussed in "Being and Nothingness" by taking them as answers to the problem of human freedom. It also shows how Sartre's work can be placed in a tradition of philosophical reflection deriving from Kant.

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. "

"Berkeley's Principles of Human Knowledge" is a key text in the history of British Empiricism and 18th - century thought. This title offers an introduction to Berkeley's seminal text, a key text in the history of philosophy that is widely studied at undergraduate level. It provides guidance on philosophical and historical context.

Presents an important work in the history of philosophy. Concentrating on Kant's Critique of Aesthetic Judgment, this book explores the important ideas inherent in the text and provides a survey of the reception and influence of Kant's work. It is suitable for undergraduate students.

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.

"To the Lighthouse" is one of Virginia Woolf's most widely read and commonly studied novels. This guide introduces its context, language, themes, criticism and afterlife. It is suitable for undergraduate students.

John Locke's "Second Treatise of Government" is one of the most influential texts in the history of political theory. Part of the Continuum's "Reader's Guides", this book offers an account of this key philosophical work. It provides a review of the key themes and a lucid commentary.

Explains the philosophical and political background and guides the reader to an understanding of the text. This book offers guidance on philosophical and historical context; key themes; reading the text; reception and influence; and, further reading.

First published in 1859, John Stuart Mill's "On Liberty" has exerted an enormous influence on philosophical and political thought. This title is part of Continuum's "Reader's Guides" that offers an introduction to this classic work of philosophy.

A guide to "The Turn of the Screw", offering students guidance on contexts, language, criticism and reading the text. It sets "The Turn of the Screw" in its historical, intellectual and cultural contexts, offering analysis of its themes, style and structure, and examining its afterlife in literature, film and popular culture.

A guide to Spinoza's masterpiece of Rationalist thought. It offers reader an unorthodox account of God, a novel version of the mind-body relation, a systematic theory of emotions and a prescription for human virtue and blessedness. It explains the philosophical background against which the book was written and the key themes inherent in the text.

Provides an introduction to the context, language, themes, criticism and afterlife of the novel "Middlemarch". This guide presents an account of its critical reception. It also discusses the cultural afterlife including film and TV adaptations. It includes points for discussion and suggestions for further study.

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.