James Lee Burke is best known for crime novels in which protagonists battle low-life thugs who commit violent crimes and corporate executives who exploit the powerless. He is best known for his Dave Robicheaux series, set in New Orleans and the surrounding bayou country. With characters inspired by his own family, Burke uses the mystery genre to explore the nature of evil and an individual's responsibility to friends, family and society at large. This companion to his works provides a commentary on all of the characters, settings, events and themes in his novels and short stories, along with...

James Joyce, one of the most important writers of the twentieth century, continues to fascinate readers all over the world. His works illuminate the human condition in a way that many readers find life changing. But he also challenges the reader with a variety of experimental techniques befitting one of the most important artists in the twentieth century movement known as "modernism." James Joyce Literary Companion] provides historical and biographical background, plot summaries of the novels and stories, and critical insight helpful for any reader of Joyce's works. Featuring a...

Provides an extensive chronology and 175 entries about both George Orwell's literary works and personal life. Also included are discussion questions and research topics, notable quotations by Orwell and an extensive bibliography of related sources.