futurumbooks.com

This volume examines the literature and culture of nineteenth-century America, covering genres such as the early American novel, realist fiction and historical romance, short stories and poetry, as well as key debates such as the American landscape, global identity, women's writing and the city, all set against the backdrop of revolution, independence, civil war and consolidation. Texts discussed include: The Scarlet Letter, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Leaves of Graves, The White Heron and selected slave narratives. Author: Rowland Hughes. (376 pages) Level: Gymnasiet (esp. A)

Exploring the range and diversity of twentieth-century American literature, this volume discusses classic works of drama, prose and poetry, as well as key topics such as the American city, masculinities, race and the American home. Key texts include: Tender is the Night, Light in August, A True Account of Talking to the Sun at Fire Island and Long Day's Journey into Night. Author: Andrew Blades. (320 pages) Level: Gymnasiet (esp. A)

• Analysis of key texts and debates
• Extended commentaries provide further in-depth analysis of individual texts
• Notes contain extra context and explanations of literary terms
• Historical, social and cultural contexts explored in introductory chapters and alongside discussions
• Modern critical theory and perspectives in practice
• Timelines and annotated further reading

This volume discusses the many ages of Children's Literature, from fairy tales and early didactic literature through to the classics of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and the modern day. Genres such as realism, fantasy, young adult literature and picture books are examined alongside debates on race, ideology, criticism and the future of Children's Literature. Featuring discussions of key texts such as Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Swallows and Amazons, The Illustrated Mum, Where the Wild Things Are and The Cat in the Hat. Author: Lucy Pearson. (344 pages) Level: Gymnasiet (esp. A)

• Analysis of key texts and debates
• Extended commentaries provide further in-depth analysis of individual texts
• Notes contain extra context and explanations of literary terms
• Historical, social and cultural contexts explored in introductory chapters and alongside discussions
• Modern critical theory and perspectives in practice
• Timelines and annotated further reading

The period 1890 to 1950 is remarkable for radical innovation and literary development. This Companion looks back to the origins of Modernism and the traditions that shaped it, examining texts from France, America, England and Ireland to provide a stimulating and original take on this unique movement in literary history.

Combining textual analysis with key critical approaches, the book considers central texts such as Eliot’s The Waste Land, Joyce’s The Portrait of the Artist and Lawrence’s Women in Love alongside wider debates on Literature and War, Modernism, Music and the Visual Arts and Modernism and its Critics etc. Author: Gary Day. (339 pages) Level: Gymnasiet (esp. A)

Sample Pages: Click here (PDF)

York Notes Companions:

• Analysis of key texts and debates
• Extended commentaries provide further in-depth analysis of individual texts
• Notes contain extra context and explanations of literary terms
• Historical, social and cultural contexts explored in introductory chapters and alongside discussions
• Modern critical theory and perspectives in practice
• Timelines and annotated further reading

This Companion looks at the literature of our own times, shaped by recent experiences from millennial anxieties to the events of 9/11. Placing texts within a cultural and critical context, the book discusses emerging genres such as multicultural and post-colonial writing, contemporary theatre, autobiography and the neo-Victorian novel.

Established writers such as A. S. Byatt, Salman Rushdie, and Carol Ann Duffy are featured alongside the newer voices of Zadie Smith, Alan Hollinghurst and Sarah Waters in a volume which offers an overview of the contemporary literary scene in Britain and further afield. Author: Fiona Tolan. (330 pages)  Level: Gymnasiet (esp. A)

Sample Pages: Click here (PDF)

York Notes Companions:

• Analysis of key texts and debates
• Extended commentaries provide further in-depth analysis of individual texts
• Notes contain extra context and explanations of literary terms
• Historical, social and cultural contexts explored in introductory chapters and alongside discussions
• Modern critical theory and perspectives in practice
• Timelines and annotated further reading

This volume mines the diversity and richness of the literature and literary theory produced in the postcolonial era, discussing texts and ideas from all over the world such Heart of Darkness, Wide Sargasso Sea, The Mimic Men, Beloved and the poetry collection Born to Slow Horses. Topics such as race, gender and sexuality, globalisation and multiculturalism are featured alongside postcolonial reading practices and explorations of key concepts such as cross-cultural paradigms, hybridity and decolonisation. Author: Wendy Knepper. (368 pages) Level: Gymnasiet (esp. A)

The literature of the second half of the twentieth century is characterised by a tension between conservatism and innovation.

This Companion examines the key writers and genres that explore this idea, including the postmodern novels of Julian Barnes, Angela Carter and Graham Swift, the modern lyrics of Philip Larkin, Sylvia Plath and Stevie Smith, and the inventive dramas of Samuel Beckett, Caryl Churchill and Tom Stoppard. Chapters focussing on “Nostalgia and Nationality”, “Class and Education” and “Sex and Identity” etc. provide important historical and social context, and combine with a range of key critical approaches to provide an indispensable guide to the era. Author: William May. (299 pages)  Level: Gymnasiet (esp. A)

Sample Pages: Click here (PDF)

York Notes Companions:

• Analysis of key texts and debates
• Extended commentaries provide further in-depth analysis of individual texts
• Notes contain extra context and explanations of literary terms
• Historical, social and cultural contexts explored in introductory chapters and alongside discussions
• Modern critical theory and perspectives in practice
• Timelines and annotated further reading

The literature of the Romantic era is steeped in the politics of revolution and reaction. This Companion looks at first and second generation poets such as Wordsworth, Blake, Byron and Shelley and explores their engagement with the turbulent history of their times.

Other genres such as drama, fiction and travel writing are also discussed, with close attention paid to texts by Walpole, Austen and Mary Wollstonecraft. Combining thematic analysis with modern critical perspectives, the volume also includes key contextual sections focusing on “Imagination, Truth and Reason”, “Heroes and Anti-heroes” and “Faith, Doubt and Myth”. Author: John Gilroy. (370 pages)  Level: Gymnasiet (esp. A)

Sample Pages: Click here (PDF)

York Notes Companions:

• Analysis of key texts and debates
• Extended commentaries provide further in-depth analysis of individual texts
• Notes contain extra context and explanations of literary terms
• Historical, social and cultural contexts explored in introductory chapters and alongside discussions
• Modern critical theory and perspectives in practice
• Timelines and annotated further reading

This Companion brings Renaissance drama to life by considering such classic plays as Hamlet, Othello and Dr Faustus from the perspective of contemporary theatre-goers.

Discussions of Shakespeare’s masterpieces are accompanied by examinations of the work of lesser known playwrights and commentators, while chapters on “Madness and Subjectivity”, “Rhetoric and Performance” and “Nation-Building” etc. provide a variety of key critical perspectives. Author: Hugh Mackay. (350 pages) Level: Gymnasiet (esp. A)

Sample Pages: Click here (PDF)

York Notes Companions:

• Analysis of key texts and debates
• Extended commentaries provide further in-depth analysis of individual texts
• Notes contain extra context and explanations of literary terms
• Historical, social and cultural contexts explored in introductory chapters and alongside discussions
• Modern critical theory and perspectives in practice
• Timelines and annotated further reading

An accessible and wide-ranging introduction to the era, this Companion explores influential dramatic works by Ibsen, Shaw and Wilde; the poetry of mourning; novelistic genres, including social problem novels and sensation fiction; and the literature of the fin de siècle’s aesthetes and decadents. Cultural and historical debates – focussing on empire, national identity, science and evolution, print culture and gender – supply essential context alongside discussion of relevant critical theory. Author: Beth Palmer. (311 pages)  Level: Gymnasiet (esp. A)

Sample pages: Click here (PDF)

York Notes Companions:

• Analysis of key texts and debates
• Extended commentaries provide further in-depth analysis of individual texts
• Notes contain extra context and explanations of literary terms
• Historical, social and cultural contexts explored in introductory chapters and alongside discussions
• Modern critical theory and perspectives in practice
• Timelines and annotated further reading