As a woman in an illegal marriage, publishing under a male pseudonym, George Eliot was one of the most successful yet controversial writers of the Victorian period. Today she is considered a key figure for women's writing and her novels, including The Mill on the Floss and Middlemarch, are commonly ranked as literary classics.

This guide to Eliot's enduringly popular work offers:

• an accessible introduction to the contexts and many interpretations of Eliot's texts, from publication to the present
• an introduction to key critical texts and...

William Shakespeare's "Macbeth" (c.1606) is a timeless tale of love, greed and power, which has given rise to heated debates around such issues as the representation of gender roles, political violence and the dramatisation of evil.
Taking the form of a sourcebook, this guide to Shakespeare's play offers:
- extensive introductory comment on the contexts, critical history and performance of the text, from publication to the present
- annotated extracts from key contextual documents, reviews, critical works and the text itself
- cross-references between documents and sections of...

Taking the form of a sourcebook, this guide to Hopkins' poetry presents:

• extensive introductory comments on the contexts, critical history and interpretations of his work, from composition to the present
• annotated extracts from key contextual documents, reviews and critical works
• unabridged texts of twenty-nine of Hopkins' most important poems, with detailed annotations
• cross-references between documents and sections of the guide, in order to suggest links between texts, contexts and criticism
• suggestions for futher...

This sourcebook offers an introduction to Thomas Hardy's crucial novel, offering: *a contextual overview, a chronology and reprinted contemporary documents, including a selection of Hardy's poems *an overview of the book's early reception and recent critical fortunes, as well as a wide range of reprinted extracts from critical works *key passages from the novel, reprinted with editorial comment and cross-referenced within the volume to contextual and critical documents *suggestions for further reading and a list of relevant web resources. For students on a wide range of courses, this...

Charles Dickens Oliver Twist is one of the most significant novels of the Victorian era and having been adapted for both stage and screen, retains its impact in the cultural consciousness of many nations. Taking the form of a sourcebook, this guide to Dickens novel includes:

• extensive introductory comment on the contexts, critical history and interpretations of the text, from publication to the present
• annotated extracts from key contextual documents, reviews, critical works and the text itself
• cross-references between documents and sections of the...

Sets Pride and Prejudice within the social contexts of female conduct books and political tales of terror, and traces criticism of the novel from the nineteenth century onwards. This title includes fourteen passages from Pride and Prejudice.

The popular yet complex work of Joseph Conrad has attracted much critical attention over the years, from the perspectives of postcolonial, modernist, cultural and gender studies. This guide to his compelling work presents:

• an accessible introduction to the contexts and many interpretations of Conrad's texts, from publication to the present
• an introduction to key critical texts and perspectives on Conrad's life and work, situated in a broader critical history
• cross-references between sections of the guide, in order to suggest links...

Lord Byron (1788-1824) was a poet and satirist, as famous in his time for his love affairs and questionable morals as he was for his poetry. Looking beyond the scandal, Byron leaves us a body of work that proved crucial to the development of English poetry and provides a fascinating counterpoint to other writings of the Romantic period.
This guide to Byron's sometimes daunting, often extraordinary work offers:
- an accessible introduction to the contexts and many interpretations of Byron's texts, from publication to the present
- an introduction to key critical texts and...

Since 1855, Walt Whitman's Song of Myself has been enjoyed, debated, parodied and imitated by readers, critics and artists crossing national and linguistic boundaries. Many argue that it is the most influential poem ever written by an American. This sourcebook and critical edition provides easy access to:

* information on the contexts of Whitman's work, including biographical details and a chronology
* an overview of the critical reception of the poem and extracts from important criticism, reprinted with clear introductory headnotes
* key passages from the original...

Since its publication in 1859, A Tale of Two Cities has remained the best-known fictional recreation of the French Revolution, and one of Charles Dickens's most exciting novels. A Tale of Two Cities blends a moving love story with the familiar figures of the Revolution-Bastille prisoners, a starving Parisian mob, and an indolent aristocracy.

Taking the form of a sourcebook, this guide to Dickens's dramatic novel offers:

• extensive introductory comment on the contexts and many interpretations of the text, from publication to the present
• annotated extracts from...