Literary Criticism eBooks

This 1897 collection of essays discusses veteran authors, schools of fiction, and criticizes two then-rising authors: Stephen Crane and Arthur Morrison. Chapters include "The Political Novel," "The Politics of Literature," "Matthew Arnold," and "The Future of Humour," among others. More...

An engrossing collection of literary essays, The New Spirit was Havelock Ellis's first book. In it he attempts to trace “the modern spirit" through the works of five great writers—Diderot, Heine, Whitman, Ibsen, and Tolstoy. Controversial when published, the book remains essential reading for any... More...

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During his adult life until his death in 1834, Coleridge made entries in more than sixty notebooks. Neither commonplace books nor diaries, but something of both, they contain notes on literary, theological, philosophical, scientific, social, and psychological matters, plans for and fragments of work... More...

The Novel Now is an intelligent and engaging survey of contemporary British fiction. Discusses familiar names such as Martin Amis, Ian McEwan, Salman Rushdie, and Angela Carter and compares them with more recent authors, including David Mitchell, Ali Smith, A.L. Kennedy, Matt Thorne, Nicola Barker, ... More...

Alex Miller's novels are increasingly regarded as classics of Australian literature. This collection of critical essays offers a systematic introduction to the work of one of Australia's best known authors.One of Australia's most respected novelists, Alex Miller's writing is both popular and critica... More...

The author of such works as A Brighter Sun (1952), The Lonely Londoners (1956), and The Plains of Caroni (1970), West Indian novelist Samuel Selvon is attracting growing amounts of scholarly attention. Nonetheless, criticism of his works has largely been imbalanced, with most scholarship focusing pr... More...

Meet Henry, who works as a waiter. Henry becomes acquainted with a variety of eccentric persons who visit the coffee shop he works in—including a man whose baby is shown in a dog show and a customer who is eaten by a cannibal. Henry's gift for observation endears him as one of Jerome's most entert... More...

Does a novel focus on one life or many? Alex Woloch uses this simple question to develop a powerful new theory of the realist novel, based on how narratives distribute limited attention among a crowded field of characters. His argument has important implications for both literary studies and narrati... More...

Although American literature is now a standard subject in the American college curriculum, a century ago few people thought it should be taught there. Elizabeth Renker uncovers the complex historical process through which American literature overcame its image of aesthetic and historical inferiority... More...