The 205 new writings by William Hazlitt collected for the first time in this volume provide a fuller picture than has hitherto been available of his career as journalist, particularly his work for the Morning Chronicle, The Times and The Atlas. Newly discovered works include major essays on the poetry of Wordsworth and Coleridge, a defence of Byron and Shelley against charges of immorality, an analysis of the three trials of the Regency publisher and writer William Hone, and a series of reminiscences and anecdotes from Hazlitt's last years. In addition, there are important essays on Napoleon,...

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. This title explores the contexts of the play, including early modern images of Venice, the commercialism of the play, Shakespeare's theatre and London, and images of Jewishness.

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 contexts of and critical responses to Melville's work. It draws together:
*an introduction to the contexts in which Melville was writing and relevant contextual documents, including letters
*chronology of key facts and dates
*critical history and extracts from early reviews and...

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 documents
• provides a comprehensive survey of the criticism of Bleak House from publication to the present, then introduces, reprints and annotates extracts from significant critical texts
• discusses key passages of the text, which are reprinted and fully...

Offers an introduction to Charles Dickens' work of the nineteenth century, David Copperfield. This title considers issues such as autobiography and Victorian social conditions. It traces responses to the novel from the first reviews to modern criticism. It provides insights into the novel's humour, its reflections of class and gender structures.

First published in 2003. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Wordsworth's Reading 1770 1799 lists all of the authors and (where possible) books known to have been read by William Wordsworth from his childhood until his move to Dove Cottage in 1799 at the age of twenty-nine. This information is presented in an easy-to-use form - in alphabetical order by author - and includes dates of reading and full discussions of the evidence. It draws on analyses of Wordsworth's manuscripts contained in current or forthcoming scholarly editions of his works, and incorporates a great deal of original research into the poet's intellectual development, including studies...

Wordsworth's Reading 1800-1815 lists all of the authors and books known to have been read by William Wordsworth during the years that saw the composition of much of his greatest poetry. It incorporates hitherto unpublished research into the poet's intellectual development and a thorough survey of manuscript materials. Together with Duncan Wu's companion-volume, Wordsworth's Reading 1770-1799, this is the most complete study of Wordsworth's reading to date, and will be an essential reference tool for all scholars and students of Wordsworth's work.

Wordsworth's Reading 1770 1799 lists all of the authors and (where possible) books known to have been read by William Wordsworth from his childhood until his move to Dove Cottage in 1799 at the age of twenty-nine. This information is presented in an easy-to-use form - in alphabetical order by author - and includes dates of reading and full discussions of the evidence. It draws on analyses of Wordsworth's manuscripts contained in current or forthcoming scholarly editions of his works, and incorporates a great deal of original research into the poet's intellectual development, including studies...

Romanticism: A Critical Reader is designed both as a companion and a supplement to Blackwell's Romanticism: An Anthology . It deals for the most part with works included in that volume while affording coverage to key elements, including fiction, beyond the anthologist's scope to include. Most of the movements and schools of thought active during the last fifteen years are represented, including feminism, new historicism, genre theory, psychoanalysis, and deconstructionalism. The reader provides thus a progress report, useful to anyone interested in the application of theoretical...