Literary Theory

I've been writing novels for over fifty years. I was lucky enough to miss the big wars and not get shot, but lucky enough to grow up among the heroes...

From a distinguished Oxford scholar and the author of A History of the Bible , an examination of how biblical translation works and why it matters Throughout history, most Jewish...

NB: This is a secondhand book in very good condition. See our FAQs for more information. Please note that the jacket image is indicative only. A description of our secondhand...

NB: This is a secondhand book in very good condition. See our FAQs for more information. Please note that the jacket image is indicative only. A description of our secondhand...

A deep, practical anatomy of the novel from 'the strongest ... literary critic we have' (New York Review of Books) Rediscover this deep, practical anatomy of the novel from 'the...

A witty introduction to the mind of Goethe, a classic in a new translation for the first time in 150 years Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was the world's most celebrated...

This story began in 2008 in a tiny village called Champagnac de Belair... This rural French village is a quiet resting place with only the sounds of birdsong, the cool...

A British whaler has been captured by an ambitious chief in the sandwich islands at French instigation, and Captain Aubrey, R. N., Is dispatched with the Surprise to restore order....

The fascinating and heartwarming true story of one of the world's most beloved authors. In this inspiring book, fans of the Harry Potter series get to see their favourite author...

The new novel from first winner of International Man Booker, inspired by three minutes in June 1934 when Joseph Stalin allegedly called Boris Pasternak. A fascinating meditation on Soviet Russia,...

From the Sunday Times bestselling author of Storyland and Wild , comes a sweeping new legendary of miracles, magic, human frailty and heroic strength. I llustrated with over thirty original...

The official biography of the award-winning and bestselling author Sir Terry Pratchett, written by Rob Wilkins, his former assistant, friend and now head of the author's literary estate. WINNER OF...

'How truth thickens and deepens when it migrates from didactic fable to the raw experience of a visceral awakening is one of the thrills of Tolstoy's stories' Sharon Cameron in...

A bold and expansive history that traces the changing and contested project of Australia's national story. You will think about this country differently after reading this book. 'Clark brings a...

Thoughts and advice on the creative writing process from an international master of literature. Words have power. Yet that power must be rooted in truth and justice. Words must never...

A thrilling study of the greatest of all epic poems, by one of the world's leading classicists Homer's Iliad is the famous epic poem set among the tales of Troy....

From the acclaimed author of The Most Dangerous Book, the true story behind the creation of another masterpiece of world literature, Fyodor Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment In the summer of...

A View from the Bridge is a tragic masterpiece of the inexorable unravelling of a man Eddie Carbone is a longshoreman and a straightforward man, with a strong sense of...

For Gertrude Stein and her companion Alice B. Toklas, life in Paris was based upon the rue de Fleurus and the Saturday evenings and 'it was like a kaleidoscope slowly...

One of the masterpieces of classical literature, the Histories describes how a small and quarrelsome band of Greek city states united to repel the might of the Persian empire. But...

A major new translation by award-winning poet and translator David Constantine that captures the lyrical liveliness of Goethe's original. Goethe's Faust reworks the late-medieval myth of Dr Faust, a brilliant...

Penguin Classics relaunch The work of a young novelist at the height of his powers, NICHOLAS NICKLEBY is one of the touchstones of the English comic novel. Around the central...

A landmark in Boswell and Johnson studies In Boswell's Life of Samuel Johnson, one of the towering figures of English literature is revealed with unparalleled immediacy and originality, in a...

An essential new translation of the author's complete, uncensored diaries - revealing the idiosyncrasies and rough edges of one of the twentieth century's most influential writers Dating from 1909 to...

A blazing, genre-bending masterpiece from one of the most inventive writers of our time. * A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK OF 2023 * * THE FINANCIAL TIMES BEST BOOKS...

Part of a series of new editions of DH Lawrence's most famous novels, stories and poems In these impressions of the Italian countryside, Lawrence transforms ordinary incidents into passages of...

One of the most inspiring thinkers of our age transforms the way we think about the world with his reflections on science, history and humanity One of our most beloved...

Beautifully designed, clothbound edition Part of Penguin's beautiful hardback Clothbound Classics series, designed by the award-winning Coralie Bickford-Smith, these delectable and collectible editions are bound in high-quality colourful, tactile cloth...

In these groundbreaking studies, Sontag strips away the myths that surround the two most stigmatized diseases of our time Sontag wrote Illness as Metaphor in 1978, while suffering from breast...

Brings together the major writings of the great Italian philosopher. In his reflections on Christianity, Saint Thomas Aquinas forged a unique synthesis of ancient philosophy and medieval theology. Preoccupied with...

One of the greatest epics in Western literature, THE ILIAD recounts the story of the Trojan wars. This timeless poem still vividly conveys the horror and heroism of men and...

A unique behind-the-scenes story of love, sisterhood and the trail-blazing Australian poet Dorothy Porter Dorothy Porter was one of Australia's most charismatic and courageous literary figures. Achieving broader fame through...

A curated collection of essays that shaped Australia's culture and society Since the 1940s, Meanjin essays have set the national cultural agenda. Arthur Phillips' idea of 'cultural cringe' has become...

A profound, funny and uplifting collection of reminiscences about a life in books Here are forty texts to read at some stage in your life- forty texts that can enrich...

These essays, reviews and articles illuminate the life and work of one of the most individual writers of this century - a man who created a unique literary manner from...

Also included are selections from B chner's letters and philosophical writings. Collected in this volume are powerful dramas and psychological fiction by the nineteenth-century iconoclast now recognized as a major...

The great epic of Western literature, translated by the acclaimed classicist Robert Fagles A Penguin Classic Robert Fagles, winner of the PEN/Ralph Manheim Medal for Translation and a 1996 Academy...

'Brilliant-a feast' Guardian 'This brilliant collection of essays should be a feast for his admirers, as well as for those who approach his dazzling oeuvre for the first time-Calvino is...

A collection of the finest essays by the 'Best of the Booker' winner, following on from his much-acclaimed STEP ACROSS THIS LINE From 'Best of the Booker' winner Salman Rushdie,...

An insight into the splendour, squalor and energy of everday Roman life Perhaps more than any other writer, Juvenal (c. AD 55-138) captures the splendour, the squalor and the sheer...

The dazzling essays of the beloved, subversive Chinese writer Wang Xiaobo, a continual bestseller in China, now in English for the first time Wang Xiaobo made his name as a...

A landmark feminist intervention- a dazzlingly original reassessment of women's stories, bodies and art - and how we think about them. 'Destined to become a new classic' Chris Kraus A...

All of Orwell's brilliant writing on England and Englishness collected in a single volume Much of George Orwell's best writing, brought together in this comprehensive collection, is concerned with England,...

An expansive collection of George Orwell's writing on the down and out The vivid, impassioned writings collected together in this powerful volume chronicle Orwell's first-hand experiences of life among the...

The definitive collection of George Orwell's timeless political writing This comprehensive collection brings together the best of George Orwell's powerful political essays and journalism with his timeless satire on totalitarianism,...

Compelling new translation of the Annals, by Cynthia Damon Tacitus' Annals recounts the major historical events from the years shortly before the death of Augustus to the death of Nero...

A fine collection of the greatest French tales about the legend of Arthur Taking the legends surrounding King Arthur and weaving in new psychological elements of personal desire and courtly...