Genres & Periods
17 essays.
An Introduction to Greek Tragedy
Greek tragedy is the foundation of Western drama, exploring fate, justice, and human suffering with unmatched power. This guide introduces the three great tragedians and the key plays every reader should know.
The Rise of the English Novel: A Brief History
The English novel emerged in the eighteenth century and quickly became the dominant literary form of the modern world. This guide traces its origins through the pioneering works of Defoe, Richardson, Fielding, and Sterne.
Best Classic Horror Novels and Stories
From the Gothic terrors of Poe to the cosmic dread of Lovecraft, classic horror fiction explores the darkest corners of human fear. This guide surveys the genre's essential authors and works.
Best Classic Science Fiction Novels
Science fiction has imagined the future since Mary Shelley first brought a creature to life. This guide explores the classic novels that founded the genre and predicted the modern world.
Best Classic Detective and Mystery Novels
Detective fiction is one of the most popular and enduring genres in literature. This guide traces its development from Poe's pioneering tales through Holmes and the golden age of Christie and her contemporaries.
An Introduction to Transcendentalist Literature
Transcendentalism was America's first major intellectual movement, championing self-reliance, nature, and the divinity of the individual. This guide introduces its key thinkers and essential texts.
An Introduction to Modernist Literature
Modernist literature shattered the conventions of storytelling in the early twentieth century. This guide explores its revolutionary techniques, key authors, and lasting influence on fiction and poetry.
An Introduction to Naturalism in Literature
Naturalism took literary realism to its scientific extreme, portraying human beings as creatures shaped by heredity and environment. This guide explores the movement's philosophy and major authors.
An Introduction to Realism in Literature
Literary realism rejected Romantic idealization in favor of honest, detailed portrayals of everyday life. This guide introduces the movement's origins, key authors, and lasting significance.
An Introduction to Classic French Literature
French literature has shaped Western culture for centuries, producing masterpieces from Moliere's comedies to Zola's naturalist epics. This guide surveys its greatest authors and movements.
An Introduction to Russian Literature
Russian literature is one of the richest traditions in world fiction, producing masterpieces of unrivaled depth and emotional power. This guide traces its development from Pushkin to Chekhov.
An Introduction to Romanticism in Literature
Romanticism was a revolution in thought and feeling that transformed Western literature. This guide introduces the movement's origins, key poets, and enduring themes.
An Introduction to Victorian Literature
Victorian literature reflects an age of unprecedented change, from the Industrial Revolution to the crisis of faith. This guide introduces its major authors, themes, and enduring significance.
An Introduction to Gothic Literature
Gothic literature conjures shadowy castles, supernatural terrors, and the darker recesses of the human mind. From Walpole to Stoker, this guide traces the genre's origins and recommends its essential reading.
The Nine Shelves, and What Belongs on Them
A library of 579 volumes needs somewhere to put each one. Here is what each of the nine shelves is for, what it deliberately excludes, and where the awkward cases went.
The Books They Kept Filming
Cinema went to these books in its first year and has never stopped. Two hundred and thirty-six dated adaptations of sixty-three volumes, from 1901 onwards — and what the pattern of them says about the books themselves.
Before the Films: The Stage, the Opera House and the Wireless
Cinema was the third industry to make free with these books. The theatre got there first, often before the novel had finished appearing — and for a century afterwards more people met a famous story on a stage, in an opera house or through a loudspeaker than ever opened it.