Literary History & Criticism

The book is full of humorous anecdote and rich characterization, and paints a vivid picture of 18th-century London, peopled by prominent personalities of the time....

An intellectual detective story, this history audiobook directs probing questions at orthodox history, presenting disturbing new evidence that historians have tried - but failed - to explain....

An unmissable collection of eight unconventional and captivating short stories for young and adult learners. "I love Olly's work - and you will too!" - Barbara Oakley, PhD, Author of New York Times bestseller A Mind for Numbers Short Stories in Spanish for Beginners has been written especially...

For fans of J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, discover the story behind their unique friendship forged in the darkness of World War II and how it inspired the stories of The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, The Chronicles of Narnia and Mere Christianity. In a world devastated by the cataclysm of war...

A leading scholar draws on fifty years of reading and studying J.R.R. Tolkien to explain how he created an entire world.

For over 40 years, Carlos Castaneda’s The Teachings of Don Juan has inspired audiences to expand their world view beyond traditional Western forms....

In this sharp and darkly funny new essay collection from the New York Times bestselling author, Cazzie David explores the irony and existential crises of leaving youth behind. This program is read by the author. With her thirtieth birthday fast approaching, Cazzie reflects on the delusions that...

In 1978 Susan Sontag wrote Illness as Metaphor, a classic work described by Newsweek as “one of the most liberating books of its time”....

The renowned diarist continues the story begun in Henry and June and Incest. Drawing from the author's original, uncensored journals, Fire follows Anaïs Nin's journey as she attempts to liberate herself sexually, artistically, and emotionally....

An unmissable collection of eight unconventional and captivating short stories for young and adult learners. Short Stories in Italian for Beginners has been written especially for students from beginner to intermediate level, designed to give a sense of achievement, and most importantly -...

‘Slowly Down the Ganges’ is seen as a vintage Newby masterpiece, alongside ‘A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush’ and ‘Love and War in the Apennines’. Told with Newby's self-deprecating humour and wry attention to detail, this is a classic of the genre and a window into an enchanting piece...

A moving meditation on recent geopolitical crises, viewed through the lens of ancient and modern tragedy....

Can Christians today read the great classics of Greco-Roman pagan literature for spiritual formation and growth in the virtues? Classical scholar Nadya Williams responds with an unequivocal "Yes!" Even in the Late Roman Empire Christian readers, like Augustine and Boethius, did just this. But...

This collection of essays allows the contemporary reader to grasp the extraordinary variety and depth of the statesman's mature thoughts on questions both grave and gay....

Melissa Lucashenko is one of Australia's most admired and awarded novelists. She is renowned for writing about ordinary Australians and the extraordinary lives they lead.

In the rigid theocracy of Salem, Massachusetts, rumors that women are practicing witchcraft galvanize the town....

“BEST NONFICTION BOOK OF THE 20TH CENTURY.” —Time “It is impossible to name a book that had a greater effect on the political and moral consciousness of the late twentieth century.” —David Remnick, The New Yorker The Nobel Prize winner’s towering masterpiece of world literature...

Initially published in 1775, A Journey to the Western Isles recounts a three-month trip to upper Scotland that Samuel Johnson undertook with James Boswell a couple of years previously.

Brought to you by Penguin. This Penguin Classic is performed by Natalie Dormer, best known for her standout role as Queen Margaery in Game of Thrones, as well as her roles in The Hunger Games and Captain America: The First Avenger. A Room of One's Own, based on a lecture given at Girton College...

James Boswell forever changed the genre of biography when he transformed a scholarly profusion of detail into a perceptive, lifelike portrait of Dr. Samuel Johnson....

A personal glimpse into the life of writer, journalist, war correspondent, adventurer Ernest Hemingway, ranging from experiences in the Spanish Civil War and World War II to his passion for bullfighting and first safari in Africa. Spanning the years 1920 to 1956, this priceless collection of...

An unmissable collection of eight unconventional and captivating short stories for young and adult learners. "I love Olly's work - and you will too!" - Barbara Oakley, PhD, Author of New York Times bestseller A Mind for Numbers Short Stories in German for Beginners has been written especially...

With a language disappearing every two weeks and neologisms springing up almost daily, an understanding of the origins and currency of language has never seemed more relevant....

In her powerful new book, critically acclaimed author Melissa Febos examines the narratives women are told about what it means to be female and what it takes to free oneself from them....

Rasselas and his companions escape the pleasures of the "happy valley" in order to make their "choice of life". By witnessing the misfortunes and miseries of others, they understand....

¿Por qué las advertencias de hace décadas describen nuestro mundo actual con tanta exactitud? 1984 y Rebelión en la granja no son solo novelas; son profecías que definen nuestra comprensión de la política moderna. Esta colección presenta dos visiones complementarias sobre cómo se pierde la libertad: una a través del miedo y la vigilancia, y la otra a través de la mentira y la manipulación.

Inside a circle of trusted friends...one was a killer. Jerry Harris was a self-made California millionaire who, at age forty-four, had it all: booming businesses, yachts, a mansion, a beautiful wife, and a voice to rival Elvis. No one who knew this well-liked, generous man could make sense of...

In this sharp and darkly funny new essay collection from the New York Times bestselling author, Cazzie David explores the irony and existential crises of leaving youth behind. This program is read by the author. With her thirtieth birthday fast approaching, Cazzie reflects on the delusions that...

2024年、秋。暗号資産で得た利益への課税を逃れ、バンコクで暮らすハッカーの樹生(たつき、30歳)は、大麻ショップの屋上で日本人の情報屋・沈没男(ちんぼつおとこ)から相談を受ける。

アメリカ憲政史に残る、制度崩壊の瞬間。三権分立の国で、なぜ権力の暴走を止められないのか?

The dangerous belief that granting women reproductive freedom poses a threat to "traditional" values is a myth that has long prospered in American politics, playing an especially vicious role in the development of totalitarianism in the West. How did such damaging ideas arise? In Reproductive Wrongs, acclaimed translator and cultural historian Sarah Ruden exposes how ideologies that oppress women and families in the service of power took hold.

Drawing from exclusive interviews and previously unseen archival materials, this one-of-its-kind biography of Hannibal Lecter documents the cannibal’s journey from terrifying villain to unexpectedly adored antihero. This unique biography traces the many lives and crimes of Hannibal Lecter: his...

The riveting story of three women reporters and the way they changed the world, work, and journalism. She hid on a Red Cross boat to reach Omaha Beach on D-Day. She walked the abandoned streets of Hong Kong to take food to her daughter’s father, a prisoner of war. She fought off the advances...

NATIONAL BESTSELLER An illuminating, electrifying exploration of the work of Toni Morrison by an award-winning novelist and Harvard professor—“a revelatory encounter with the Nobel laureate’s oeuvre” (The New York Times Book Review, Editors’ Choice) “A landmark appraisal of the...

"Poetry is the sound of language organized in lines." James Longenbach opens this provocative audiobook with that essential statement. Through a range of examples—from Shakespeare and Milton to Ashbery and Glück—Longenbach describes the function of line in metered, rhymed, syllabic, and free-verse poetry. The Art of the Poetic Line is a vital new resource by one of America's most important critics and most engaging poets.

In an era when a future audience is very much not guaranteed, what possible purpose could there be in something as seemingly marginal as artistic creation, specifically literary creation? Why bother writing when the world’s on fire?

H.P. Lovecraft Books Study Guide: Endings Explained, Analysis, Commentary & Fun Facts is a comprehensive companion for listeners who want to go beyond the surface of Lovecraft’s strange and unsettling fiction. Designed for students, literature enthusiasts, and fans of cosmic horror, this guide breaks down Lovecraft’s most influential works with clarity, insight, and accessibility—without losing the eerie fascination that defines his writing.

Sie sind literarische Legenden. Adrienne Monnier und Sylvia Beach haben mit ihren benachbarten Buchhandlungen über Jahrzehnte das literarische Paris geprägt. Doch 1940, mit der deutschen Besatzung, ändert sich auch für sie alles. Aus der literarischen Oase im Herzen der Stadt wird ein Zufluchtsort für deutsch-jüdische Exilanten und ein Ort des Widerstands. Uwe Neumahr erzählt in seinem bewegenden Buch die Geschichte dieses großen Paares und ihrer Freunde.

Una mujer lucha por seguir viva cada noche y, para alejar la muerte unas horas más, se inventa un cuento. Todos conocemos la historia de Sherezade, pero nadie ha leído Las mil y una noches como lo haría Jeanette Winterson, que se sumerge en este libro legendario para plantear preguntas y respuestas aún hoy vigentes: ¿cómo influyen nuestros relatos en las creencias sobre el mundo?, ¿cuál es el impacto de la imaginación sobre la realidad?, ¿dónde está el límite entre la honestidad y la mentira?, ¿es el amor, acaso, lo más importante?

Someone recommended Crime and Punishment. Maybe it was a professor. Maybe it was that person at the coffee shop who looked very thoughtful. Maybe you just wanted to seem interesting at parties. Whatever the reason, you're now 200 pages into a Russian novel where a sweaty man has a theory about Napoleon, and you're starting to suspect you've made a terrible mistake. Welcome. You're in the right place.