Disraeli vividly depicts the appalling conditions of the poor-their pitiful wages, their miserably overcrowded tenements, and their exploitation by the new breed of powerful industrialists-as an indirect plea for social and political reform and for the fulfilment of his dream of a new, more democratic England.

Set in a fictional Whitby at the turn of the eighteenth century, Sylvia's Lovers (1863) is a compelling story of an ordinary girl's tragic passion for a man who disappears. This wide-ranging new edition includes freshly researched notes and considers the novel's debates with the legacy of the Brontes.

Symmetry is an immensely important concept in mathematics and throughout the sciences. In this Very Short Introduction, Ian Stewart highlights the deep implications of symmetry and its important scientific applications across the entire subject.

Renowned political scientist Daniel W. Drezner argues that the Great Recession is in fact a global economic governance success story.

In this new edition the writings of the young Brontes - Charlotte, Emily, Anne, and Branwell - are presented together for the first time in a single volume. The fantasy worlds of Glass Town, Angria, and Gondal, experiments in romance and realism, provided a rich source for their later work and offer an insight into their developing creativity.

Being Literate in the 21st Century tackles some of the most difficult questions for the next generation around literacy and thought, as we continue to move into a digital culture. It explores research from multiple disciplines on what it means to be literate, and addresses the problem of universal literacy.