For every great writer there need to be equally great readers. Jonathan Yardley may be just that, willing not only to read a work once, but also to re-read it seven or eight times. Yardley has been a columnist and book critic for the... Read More

In an article entitled “Muriel Spark’s Definition of Reality” in the journal Critique, Ann B. Dobie states, “The basic intention of Muriel Spark’s novels has not always been clear to critics….” Linette Bruno, an English... Read More

If a university offered an English course on the changing perception of military valor throughout history as shown through great literature, this book would be its syllabus. Not coincidentally, Alfredo Bonadeo is a professor of languages... Read More

It is fitting that the title of a book that examines the suicide motif in Shakespeare’s works is inspired by Act 4 Scene XV of Shakespeare’s tragedy Antony and Cleopatra. In this scene, Mark Antony has died in Cleopatra’s arms... Read More

“That is so last century!” Today’s readers and teachers may exclaim as they begin The Catcher in the Rye, the 1951 classic by J. D. Salinger. Fortunately, Peter G. Beidler has decoded the cultural information that packs the novel.... Read More

“H.D.,” in this context, stands not for high-definition television, but for Hilda Doolittle (1886-1961); that is, H.D. the poet, who was associated with Imagism, a literary movement often said to espouse crisp visual objectivity.... Read More

The recently established International Thriller Writers organization decided to compile a list of 100 thrillers that have a made an impact on literature; the result is this dynamic anthology of essays by Steve Berry, Heather Graham,... Read More

Ten plays. Ten decades. This is August Wilson’s legacy. Wilson, winner of two Pulitzer Prizes, is considered the greatest American playwright of the last half of the twentieth century. In August Wilson: Completing the Twentieth-Century... Read More