An in-depth guide to the intriguing lives of Tolkien's Hobbits.

Lorna Hutson argues that changes in the English justice system in the sixteenth century towards greater participation (by JPs and jurors) had a decisive impact on English Renaissance drama. Her nuanced and closely researched book sheds new light on much of what we take for granted about character and plot in Shakespearean drama.

The second volume of the remarkable autobiography of Arthur Koestler, author of Darkness at Noon. Taken together, Arthur Koestler's volumes of autobiography constitute an unrivalled study of a twentieth-century life.

A groundbreaking reassessment of W. H. Auden's early life and poetry, shedding new light on his artistic development as well as on his shifting beliefs about political belonging in interwar England.

Stunning three-volume slipcased set containing the most comprehensive in-depth companion to Tolkien's life and works ever published, including synopses of all his writings, and a Tolkien gazetteer, who's who and chronology.

A celebration of the sharpest, wittiest, most beloved Jane Austen characters and their timeless retorts

A wide-ranging study of the myth of "The Last of the Race" as it develops in a range of literary and non-literary texts from the late-17th to late-19th centuries, from the ancient myths of Noah and Deucalion to contemporary stories of nuclear holocaust.

'A marvellous book, lovingly edited, beautifully produced. . . and brimming with literary insights, much laughter, a sprinkle of gossip and the poet's insuppressible joie de vivre, even in adversity. Buy it, read it, and keep it to hand on to your children.' John Banville, Guardian

This selection of correspondence presents, for the first time, the private life and reflections of a maverick figure in the history of British and American poetry.

The library saved her. Now she wants to save the library. But what I didn't expect was for a simple part-time job to become a passionate battle for survivial, both for me and for the library. So this is my eye-opening account of the strange and wonderful library that saved me and why I'm on a mission to save yours.

Princes, collectors, bookworms and thieves: the extraordinary story of the library, from Alexandria to the age of Google.

This 1894 publication details the extraordinary life of distinguished geologist and Dean of Westminster, William Buckland. Compiled by his daughter almost four decades after Buckland's death, this biography presents an unusually personal account of the famed geologist's esteemed career and is supplemented with several photographs and illustrations.

The stunning autobiography of the poet, writer, lyricist and activist, Benjamin Zephaniah.

A witty and magical collection of essays that investigates western culture through the broadest spectrum of literature, media and popular phenomenon.

Winner of the 2023 Edgar Award for Best Critical/Biographical book, and the H.R.F. Keating Award for best biography or critical book related to crime fiction.

The author deliberately shakes the image of Burns as a romantic hero - exposing the sexual misdemeanours, drinking bouts and waywardness that other, more reverential, biographies choose to overlook. In this book, the author's real achievement is to bring alive the personality of a great man.

The Literary Lifeline offers an interdisciplinary investigation into the phenomenon of reading for well-being. The book is a study of the transformative potential of literature.

This Pivot book examines literary elements of urban topography that have animated Alan Moore, Peter Ackroyd, and Iain Sinclair's respective representations of London-ness. Ann Tso argues these authors write London "psychogeographically" to deconstruct popular visions of London with colonial and neoliberal undertones.

Who was Jezebel? What was the Wooden Horse? When was the Enlightenment? Who were the Luddites? And what is blank verse? The Literature Student's Survival Kit gives students about to embark on a literature degree all the background information they need to stay afloat.

Sunday Times bestseller and inspirational memoir of the year by Henry Fraser, now a major musical production