Despite its indifferent reception when it was first published in 1851, Moby Dick is now a central work in the American literary canon. This introduction offers readings of Melville's masterpiece, but it also sets out the key themes, contexts, and critical reception of his entire oeuvre. The first chapters cover Melville's life and the historical and cultural contexts. Melville's individual works each receive full attention in the third chapter, including Typee, Moby Dick, Billy Budd and the short stories. Elsewhere in the chapter different themes in Melville are explained with reference to...
Despite its indifferent reception when it was first published in 1851, Moby Dick is now a central work in the American literary canon. This introducti...
This Companion consists of 14 essays by leading international scholars. They provide a series of new perspectives on one of the most enigmatic and controversial American writers. Specially tailored to the needs of undergraduates, the essays examine all of Poe's major writings, his poetry, short stores and criticism, and place his work in a variety of literary, cultural and political contexts. This volume will be of interest to scholars as well as students. It features a detailed chronology and a comprehensive guide to further reading.
This Companion consists of 14 essays by leading international scholars. They provide a series of new perspectives on one of the most enigmatic and con...
Despite its indifferent reception when it was first published in 1851, Moby Dick is now a central work in the American literary canon. This introduction offers readings of Melville's masterpiece, but it also sets out the key themes, contexts, and critical reception of his entire oeuvre. The first chapters cover Melville's life and the historical and cultural contexts. Melville's individual works each receive full attention in the third chapter, including Typee, Moby Dick, Billy Budd and the short stories. Elsewhere in the chapter different themes in Melville are explained with reference to...
Despite its indifferent reception when it was first published in 1851, Moby Dick is now a central work in the American literary canon. This introducti...
Despite major advances in women's history, literary history, and the history of the book, the intellectual life of women in colonial America has been a largely neglected area of scholarship. Kevin J. Hayes draws upon an impressive array of primary materials to describe in detail the kinds of books these women read and the reasons why they read them.
Despite major advances in women's history, literary history, and the history of the book, the intellectual life of women in colonial America has been ...
Herman Melville's reputation as a great writer has gradually evolved throughout the past century. Tempered by studies that emphasize the Western literary tradition, literary appreciation for Melville's use of folklore has been slow in developing. This ground-breaking study brings to the forefront the depth of Melville's immersion with and borrowing from oral traditions. Though intended as a survey of Melville's use of folklore, this book serves also as a general introduction to his work. Unencumbered by critical jargon and narrated in an engaging manner, this book will appeal to general...
Herman Melville's reputation as a great writer has gradually evolved throughout the past century. Tempered by studies that emphasize the Western liter...
In late 1914, Charlie Chaplin's name first began appearing on marquees. By the end of the following year, moviegoers couldn't get enough of him and his iconic persona, the Little Tramp. Perpetually outfitted with baggy pants, a limp cane, and a dusty bowler hat, the character became so beloved that Chaplin was mobbed by fans, journalists, and critics at every turn.
Although he never particularly liked giving interviews, he accepted the demands of his stardom, giving detailed responses about his methods of making movies. He quickly progressed from making two-reel shorts to feature-length...
In late 1914, Charlie Chaplin's name first began appearing on marquees. By the end of the following year, moviegoers couldn't get enough of him and...
There are few writers about whom it can be said that they write just like they speak, but Jack Kerouac (1922-1969) is clearly one of them. In 1958, Kerouac was a struggling writer trying to create a new literary aesthetic based on the rhythms of human speech, jazz-based improvisation, autobiography, and American slang. That year saw the publication of his second novel On the Road, which would instantly propel him to fame and ensconce him in the literary establishment. By 1969, he was dead of internal hemorrhaging brought on by excessive drinking. Though his literary reputation may...
There are few writers about whom it can be said that they write just like they speak, but Jack Kerouac (1922-1969) is clearly one of them. In 1958,...
Thomas Jefferson was an avid book-collector, a voracious reader, and a gifted writer--a man who prided himself on his knowledge of classical and modern languages and whose marginal annotations include quotations from Euripides, Herodotus, and Milton. And yet there has never been a literary life of our most literary president. In The Road to Monticello, Kevin J. Hayes fills this important gap by offering a lively account of Jefferson's spiritual and intellectual development, focusing on the books and ideas that exerted the most profound influence on him. Moving chronologically...
Thomas Jefferson was an avid book-collector, a voracious reader, and a gifted writer--a man who prided himself on his knowledge of classical and moder...
Sam Peckinpah (1925-1984), an accomplished writer and director of television westerns, did not attract media attention until the release of his second feature-length film, the award-winning Ride the High Country. Peckinpah revealed in early interviews his deep knowledge of film history, an uncompromising aesthetic, and an intolerance for any crew members who did not share his capacity for hard work. As his career progressed, he began having increasingly difficult times with producers who did not share his vision. His problems with them emerge as a major focus of his interviews....
Sam Peckinpah (1925-1984), an accomplished writer and director of television westerns, did not attract media attention until the release of his sec...
