This work is part of the "Continuum Contemporaries" series giving readers accessible and informative introductions to 30 of the most popular, most acclaimed and most influential contemporary novels. It contains a biography of the novelist and a full-length study of the novel.

This work is part of the "Continuum Contemporaries" series giving readers accessible and informative introductions to 30 of the most popular, most acclaimed and most influential contemporary novels. It contains a biography of the novelist and a full-length study of the novel.

Borges -- Argentine poet, essayist, and short-story writer, whose tales of fantasy and dream-worlds are classics of the 20th-century world literature - was profoundly influenced by European culture, English literature, and thinkers such as Berkeley.

Anyone in search of England can do no better than to take up Karel Capek's Letters from England. Humorous, insightful and imbued with a profound humanity, Capek's letters convey a bemused admiration for a country which in the 1920's still lived according to the memory of its greatness.

Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" is a key text in the development of modernism and one of the most important literary works of the early twentieth century. This guide provides an introduction to reading this work and includes sections on its contexts, language and style, critical reception and literary and film adaptations.

"The Great Gatsby" (1925) is a classic of modern American literature and is often seen as the quintessential novel of 'the jazz age'. This guide sets "The Great Gatsby" in its historical, intellectual and cultural contexts, offering analyses of its themes, style and structure. It includes points for discussion and suggestions for further study.

Provides an account of the novelist's surviving papers. This book examines "Sir Charles Grandison", a work attributed to Jane Austen by the author in 1977. In an appendix, he discusses Mrs Leavis's theory concerning the relationship between Jane Austen's life and art, and between the juvenilia and the later novels.

Franz Kafka is one of the most widely taught, and read, writers in world literature. Readers encountering texts like "The Metamorphosis" and "The Trial" for the first time are frequently perplexed by his often intentionally weird writing. This guide helps the reader understand why and how perplexity has been deliberately created by Kafka's texts.

Kazuo Ishiguro is one of the finest and most accomplished contemporary writers of his generation. The short story author, television writer and novelist, has produced a body of work which is just as critically-acclaimed as it is popular with the general public. This book presents critical essays on Kazuo Ishiguro.

The internationally bestselling trilogy - reissued to tie in with the long-awaited continuation of one of the major publishing phenomenons of modern times

The internationally bestselling trilogy - reissued to tie in with the long-awaited continuation of one of the major publishing phenomenons of modern times

The riveting story of Margaret Pole, daughter of George, Duke of Clarence, one of the few surviving members of the Plantagenet dynasty

What do you do when you find a severed head on the beach? With her former cop grandfather as back-up, crime reporter Jimm Juree sets out to discover how the poor fellow got there. Yet the authorities show no interest at all...

Jack Reacher, adrift in the hellish heat of a Texas summer. Looking for a lift through the vast empty landscape. A woman stops, and offers a ride. She is young, rich and beautiful. But her husband's in jail. When he comes out, he's going to kill her. Her family's hostile, she can't trust the cops, and the lawyers won't help.

1758. England is embroiled in a globe-spanning conflict that stretches from her North American colonies to Europe and beyond. Across the Channel, the French prepare for an invasion - an invasion rumored to be led by none other than Bonnie Prince Charlie. It seems the map of Europe is about to be redrawn.

Featuring a comprehensive map and guide, this volume includes colour illustrations and a detailed world map. It is suitable for any Discworld fan.

Since the death of her mother, Hannah's family life has been somewhat chaotic. Her father is absorbed by running their dilapidated farm, and the four children are increasingly left to their own devices. But when the farm is threatened with demolition, Hannah determines to save it and realize her dreams at the same time.

In the near future, the nano-drug Nexus can link mind to mind. There are some who want to improve it. There are some who want to eradicate it. And others who want to exploit it. There's more to Nexus than meets the eye...

Six months have passed since the release of Nexus 5. The world is a different, more dangerous place. In the USA, the freedom fighters of the Post-Human Liberation Front use Nexus to turn men and women into human time bombs aimed at the President and his allies. The first blows in the war between human and post-human have been struck.

The hi-octane conclusion to the Nexus trilogy, already garnering award nominations in the UK and US.

An extraordinary novel about the making of modern Iran - Kader Abdolah's The King, already a bestseller in Europe, is now published in English for the first time

One of the earliest novels from Man Booker International Prize-winner Ismail Kadare, in English for the first time

On the side of a mountain, in eighteenth century Japan, sits a man in perfect stillness as the summit erupts, spitting fire and molten rock onto the land around him. The man is Hakuin. He will become the world's most famous teacher of zen. This is not the first time he has seen hell.

One night, George Duncan is woken by a noise in his garden. Impossibly, a great white crane has tumbled to earth, shot through its wing by an arrow. Unexpectedly moved, George helps the bird, and from the moment he watches it fly away, his life is transformed.