Literature & Poetry

No space of regret can make amends for one life's opportunity misused. A Christmas Carol is one of the most beloved and heart-warming Christmas tales of all time. Ebenezer Scrooge is a greedy and unsympathetic man who has no time for Christmas. "If I could work my will," said Scrooge indignantly, "Every ...

'Pure appetite,' he writes ironically early in the collection, 'I wouldn't know anything about that.' And the following poem answers: Down there the little star-nosed engine of desire at work all night, secretive: in the morninga new line running across the wet grass, near the surface, like a vein.

Third collection by acclaimed Scottish poet, shortlisted for the T.S. Eliot Prize and a Poetry Book Society Choice. Herd's debut No Hiding Place was shortlisted for the Forward Prize for Best First Collection, and her second, Dead Redhead, was a Poetry Book Society Recommendation.

A beautifully illustrated collection of poems from the Poet Laureate

How did social, cultural and political events in Britain during the 1990s shape contemporary British Fiction?

From the fall of the Berlin Wall to the turn of the millennium, the 1990s witnessed a realignment of global politics. Against the changing international scene, this volume uses events abroad ...

This volume offers an accessible and thought-provoking guide to this major Renaissance tragedy, surveying its key themes and evolving critical responses over the course of nearly four centuries. Providing a uniquely detailed and up-to-date account of the play's rich stage history, it demonstrates how ...

From the trauma of September 11th, through the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, to the aftermath of the Arab Spring and the environmental warning signs of climate change, this book reflects on the crises and terrifying events of the early 21st century and argues that a knowledge of tragedy from the works ...

Eating Shakespeare provides a constructive critical analysis of the issue of Shakespeare and globalization and revisits understandings of interculturalism, otherness, hybridity and cultural (in)authenticity. Featuring scholarly essays as well as interviews and conversation pieces with creatives - including ...

Often described as one of Shakespeare's 'problem plays', Measure for Measure explores issues of mercy and justice in corrupt Vienna. The Duke makes his strict moralistic deputy, Angelo, temporary leader of Vienna, while he disguises himself as a friar to witness all that ensues.

In the comprehensive ...

It is a truth universally acknowledged that most of us could use some guidance. Whether you're looking to marry a man with several carriages to his name, are recovering from an illness caused by wet stockings or you're unsure what colour ribbon is the best match for your outfit, Jane Austen's wisdom ...

Published in association with the Royal Shakespeare Company, and illustrated with contemporary images from Shakespeare's time as well as photographs of RSC performances, this book explores the poet's life and the enduring legacy of his work.

This book explores Sir Angus Wilson's many faces as a writer and investigates the ways in which his literature depicts people who undergo a crisis and/or collapse of self-belief, and then have to find the courage to invent themselves anew.

From the author of The Empathy Exams comes a profound meditation on isolation, longing and the conflicts faced by all those who choose to tell true stories about the lives of others.

Franz Kafka died almost unacknowledged but he is now recognised as one of the greatest authors of the 20th century and the creator of some of modern literature's most unsettling and memorable images. This biography shows that this world was very much Kafka's own: his personal life was as complicated and troubled as anything in his books.

In this revealing collection of personal essays, renowned essayist, Phillip Lopate, shares his unique views on the big subjects of parenthood, marriage, sex, friendship, and 'the nail parings of daily life'. At turns funny, tender, and searingly honest, he searches with a cool eye for that elusive truth about himself and the world.

A poet and banker who knew everybody, Samuel Rogers (1763-1855) was a brilliant recorder of things said by his famous and powerful contemporaries, from Edmund Burke to Talleyrand, from Charles James Fox to the Duke of Wellington. He was all ears, very good at hearing what was said, and assiduous about ...

Love in a Life, Andrew Motion's sixth volume of poetry, marks a conspicuous development in the work of the founder of the modern Narrative School. Directness and a new colloquialism are wedded to Motion's distinctive obliquities in a volume where the idea of marriage governs the architecture of each poem and the book as a whole.

Randomly Moving Particles is built from two long poems that form its opening and close, connected by three shorter pieces. The title poem, in a kaleidoscope of compelling scenes, engages with subjects that include migration, placement, loss, space exploration and current British and American politics.

Zonal is an experiment in science-fictional and fantastic autobiography, with all of its poems taking their imaginative cue from the first season of The Twilight Zone (1959-1960), playing fast and loose with both their source material and their author's own life.

It contains love songs, work songs, songs about the pains and anxieties of existence, songs of consolation, songs about various kinds of spiritual quest and the realms of the mystical, and songs which deal with healing and reconciliation, both with the self and with others.