Routledge Guides to Literature are clear introductions to authors and texts most frequently studied by undergraduate students of literature. Each book explores texts, contexts and criticism, highlighting the critical views and contextual factors that students must consider in advanced studies of literary works.
Each guide presents a variety of approaches and interpretations, encouraging readers to think critically about 'standard' views and to make independent readings of literary texts. Alongside general guides to texts and authors, the series includes 'sourcebooks', which incorporate extracts from key contextual and critical materials as well as annotated passages from the primary text.
Some books in this series were originally published in the Routledge Literary Sourcebook series, edited by Duncan Wu, or the Complete Critical Guide to English Literature series, edited by Richard Bradford and Jan Jedrzjewski.
Edited
By Paula Byrne
July 02, 2004
Emma is widely regarded as Jane Austen's most perfectly constructed novel. At once a comedy of misunderstanding, a razor-sharp analysis of the English class-system, a classic tale of moral growth, and a romance that combines sense with sensibility, it has appealed to readers of every generation and...
Edited
By Janice M. Allan
July 02, 2004
With its sustained social criticism and complex construction, Charles Dickens's Bleak House (1853) is considered by many critics to be Dickens's most remarkable novel. Janice Allan: introduces the contextual issues that most directly influenced Dickens's writing and reprints relevant source ...
Edited
By Janet Beer, Elizabeth Nolan
July 06, 2004
Damned upon publication for engaging with the taboo issues of female sexuality and infidelity, Kate Chopin's The Awakening (1899) is now hailed as a key early feminist text and an important work of American literature.This sourcebook combines accessible commentary with reprinted documents to ...
Edited
By Michael O'Neill
February 23, 2004
Deeply involved with Irish culture and history, W. B. Yeats (1865-1939) is one of the greatest poets writing in the last two centuries. This sourcebook provides essential help for readers who wish to learn more about his powerful, haunting poems. Considering Yeats's early, dreamily evocative poems ...
Edited
By Richard J. Dunn
February 20, 2004
This guidebook offers the ideal introduction to one of the most enduringly popular works of the nineteenth century. Richard J. Dunn first places David Copperfield in its social, biographical and literary contexts, touching upon such fascinating issues as autobiography and Victorian social ...
Edited
By S.P. Cerasano
February 19, 2004
With Shylock's pound of flesh and Portia's golden ring,The Merchant of Venice is one of Shakespeare's most controversial, disturbing and unforgettable plays.Combining accessible commentary with a range of reprinted materials, S. P. Cerasano:*explores the contexts of the play, including early modern...
By Geoffrey Harvey
December 08, 2003
Thomas Hardy was the foremost novelist of his time, as well as an established poet. Author of Jude the Obscure and Far from the Madding Crowd, Hardy reflected in his works the dynamics of social, intellectual and aesthetic change in nineteenth-century England.This guide provides students with a ...
Edited
By Debra J. Rosenthal
November 14, 2003
First published in book form in 1852, Uncle Tom's Cabin quickly became a bestseller, recognised as a powerful contribution to anti-slavery debates. After more than 150 years, it remains one of the most widely discussed works of American literature. Debra Rosenthal: *examines the life and career of ...
Edited
By Michael J. Davey
November 04, 2003
No book is more central to the study of nineteenth-century American literature than Herman Melville's Moby-Dick; or The Whale. First published it 1851, it still speaks powerfully to readers today. Combining reprinted documents with clear introductions for student readers, this volume examines the ...
Edited
By Christopher Innes
September 29, 2003
Since Hedda Gabler exploded on to European and American stages in the 1890s, the play and its title character have troubled and transfixed audiences, performers and critics the world over. In this sourcebook, Christopher Innes balances essential reprinted texts with clear, incisive commentary to:*...
Edited
By John Strachan
July 29, 2003
This sourcebook offers the ideal introduction to the work of John Keats, a central figure in English Romanticism and one of the most popular poets in the literary canon.The sourcebook is arranged in four sections: Contexts, Interpretations, Key Poems and Further Reading. Each combines clear ...
Edited
By Grace Ioppolo
July 18, 2003
This sourcebook clearly introduces the many critical issues surrounding this complex and haunting play. Ioppolo examines sources, from Holinshed to Spencer, and in the Interpretations section looks at critical readings and notable performances of the play. These range from early critical responses ...