One of the most popular and prolific writers of our day, Mary Higgins Clark continues to write bestselling, award-winning novels of mystery and suspense, attracting new fans worldwide and thrilling dedicated readers who have followed her career for nearly three decades. This revised "Critical Companion" offers an expanded discussion of the forms and conventions of suspense writing, along with updated biographical information about the Queen of Suspense. Covering Clark's most recent works, nine new chapters examine the novels and short stories published since 1996, including "Daddy's Little...

Willa Cather's elegiac tales of the pioneer experience on the American frontier continue to captivate new generations of readers. Written especially for students, this critical introduction offers insightful yet accessible criticism of Cather's most widely read novels. A full chapter examines each work, with full discussions of character development, thematic concerns, plot, critical reception, and historical contexts. Students will find this book a valuable guide to this great American author.

The volume covers such enduring works as "Alexander's Bridge, " "O Pioneers , " "The Song of...

This one-stop reference to the "Jazz Age"--the period that began after the First World War and ended with the stock market crash of 1929--digs into the cultural, historical, and literary contexts of the era. Author Linda De Roche examines the writing of the time to look beyond the common conceptions of the Roaring Twenties and instead reflect on the era's complexities and contradictions, including how gender and race influenced social mores.

The book profiles key American literature of the time, including F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby," Ernest Hemingway's "The Sun Also Rises,"...