Subject Guide: Literature

Essays on Sendak, Steig, Gorey, L. Frank Baum, Tomi Ungerer, Jack Keats, Margot Zemach, and Ursula Nordstrom that show the integration of text and image, the abilities of authors and artists of picture books to somehow change our perceptions.

Uses the motif of the mentor-lover to explore, evaluate and compare the works of Jane Austen, Charlotte Brontë and George Eliot as they contend with issues of sexuality, family, selfhood, freedom, conduct and gender.

Uses botanical language to read courtship novels from Jane Austen to George Eliot and Henry James.

Addresses the genre of childhood writings by major authors, and explore the genesis of genius.

Highlights Wayne Booth's contributions to literary and rhetorical studies.

Offers new interpretations that demonstrate the awareness that Austen's awareness of her narrative practice and of the novel's function as a social and political instrument.

Addresses these intriguing questions as What makes a work of literature good or bad? How freely can the reader interpret it? Could a nursery rhyme like Baa Baa Black Sheep be full of concealed loathing, resentment, and aggression?

A study of the history of reading Jane Austen's novels.

Argues that Austen was a writer steeped in the Enlightenment and that her allegiance to a skeptical tradition within it lasted throughout her career.

Investigates how Austen worked with, and played upon, the cracks and faultlines which time had uncovered in the ideals of polite conversation.

Shows how Jane Austen was sometimes wildly venerated for markedly different reasons.

Incorporates the findings of new scholarship to enrich our understanding of Austen and give us the fullest and most revealing view yet of her life and family.

Offers a new way of approaching and reading of Jane Austen through her texts, the development of English Studies, and the role of Oxford University Press in shaping a canon of English texts in the 20th century.

Provides scholars with the necessary methods and tools for studying literature produced between 1880 and 1945.

Uses Jane Austen's discovered memoirs to delves into the secrets of Jane Austen's life, giving us untold insights into her mind and heart.

Asserts that Jane Austen's novels allude to actual high-profile politicians and contemporary celebrities as well as to famous historical figures and landed estates.

Tells of over 500 literary locales across the United States and Europe.

Presents an original and lucid account of the relationship between philosophy and the novel.

Addresses Willa Cather and Mary Austin as central figures in a women's tradition of the pictured West.

An illustrated and annotated edition of Jane Austen's favorite and most popular work.

Offers a close analysis of novels that are uniquely representative of the 19th century, including the work of Austen, Eliot, Scott, Thackeray, Gaskell, Dickens, Trollope, Braddon, and the Bronte sisters.

Takes as its starting point the wide-ranging work of Marilyn Butler on Romantic literature, and includes contributions by some of the most prominent scholars of Romanticism working today.

With humor and spirit, the author leads readers through landscapes Jane knew and loved and through emotional landscapes in which grace and hope take the place of stagnation and despair.

Tests readers' knowledge of classic and contemporary literature.

Discusses some of the aspects that made The Wizard of Oz unique and gave it long-lasting appeal.

Explores the eventful times in which Baum lived, which influenced nearly every aspect of the Oz tales.

Essays on Sendak, Steig, Gorey, L. Frank Baum, Tomi Ungerer, Jack Keats, Margot Zemach, and Ursula Nordstrom that show the integration of text and image, the abilities of authors and artists of picture books to somehow change our perceptions.

Gives an account of the emergence and significance of Keatsi books within the context of his life.

Brings together nine of Ezra Jack Keats' best-loved stories, including the 1963 Caldecott Medal-winning book The Snowy Dayand Caldecott Honor book Goggles!, plus Whistle for Willie, Peter's Chair, Apt. 3, and others.

Essays on Sendak, Steig, Gorey, L. Frank Baum, Tomi Ungerer, Jack Keats, Margot Zemach, and Ursula Nordstrom that show the integration of text and image, the abilities of authors and artists of picture books to somehow change our perceptions.

Analyses of literary texts and historical sources to show how a culture return to peace after a war.

Collection of interviews with notable modern writer, Toni Morrison.

Study of the African American novel that seeks to answer the question: what has been the impact of the African American vernacular tradition from the spirituals, blues, gospel, and jazz to hip hop on the structure and style of the modern African American novel?

Defines postmodernism, compares and contrasts it with modernism, and places it in its historical context, and discusses the major theorists of postmodernism.

Presents the history of the 20th-century American novel as a continuous narrative dialogue between white and black voices.

Guide to the Harlem Renaissance (1918-1937), the most influential single movement in African American literary history.

Designed to facilitate a richer understanding of Toni Morrison’s work and promote critical thinking by asking students to investigate issues of whiteness, historiography, critical race theory, and narratology.

Comprehensive history of American women writers from 1650 to 2000.

Explores contemporary feminist, postmodernist, and postcolonial women writers' use and revisions of fairy tales and myths.

Offers a Catholic monk's take on the Harry Potter series.

Exploring children's classics from many eras and relating them to the authors who wrote them.

Proposes new theoretical frameworks for understanding the contradictory ways masculinity is represented in popular texts consumed by boys in the United States.

Draws on a wider range of intellectual traditions to explore the Harry Potter novels, including moral-theological analysis, psychoanalytic perspectives, and philosophy of technology.

A uniquely in-depth study of the crossover novel, Falconer engages with a ground-breaking range of sources, from primary texts, to child and adult reader responses, to cultural and critical theory.

Companion to the Harry Potter books and the life and her literary influences of the author, J. K. Rowling.

Surveys 400 English children's fantasies from 1850 to 2000.

Proposes that far from being 'wicked' or 'Satanic,' the Harry Potter books are in fact narratives of robust faith and morality.

Explores the world of magic and mystery created by J. K. Rowling alongside the stories and grand themes of the Bible.

A guide to the history behind the world of Harry Potter.

Takes readers on a journey through the transformative power of those themes for both the individual and for culture by placing Rowling's series in its literary, historical, and cultural contexts.

Academic philosophers apply their field to the Harry Potter series.

Examination of the Harry Potter series by scholars from various disciplines as both cultural product and social text.

Points out general themes in the works of C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, and J.K. Rowling and matches them to the ancient motifs of the biblical writings.

Tracks the evolution of Modernism from its emergence in the late 19th century to its recent incarnations.

Gives analysis and criticism on recent novels and other works of fiction, nonfiction and poetry.

Gives analysis and criticism on recent novels and other works of fiction, nonfiction and poetry.

Profiles the censorship of many essential works of literature.

Gives parents and teachers a roadmap for using the Harry Potter books to teach Christian truth to children.

A distinctive photo essay about the life of J. K. Rowling and the making of Harry Potter

Explains how J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series not only entertain but also teach deeply held truths about ourselves, others, and the world around us.

Analyzes the social and political implications of the Harry Potter phenomenon.

Considers the psychological and social-developmental experiences of children as mirrored in Rowling's novels, examines the works' literary and historical contexts, and focuses on the social values underlying the Potter series and on issues such as morality, the rule of law, and constructions of bravery.

Examines Rowling's life and work and tackle the controversies, both artistic and moral, surrounding the Harry Potter books.

Scholarly treatment of the Harry Potter series.

Uses the J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series to explore the limits of the formulaic structure of adolescent fantasy fiction and also examines the impulse of exploration, subversion, and resistance contained within the formula.

Introduces the themes and patterns J.K. Rowlings to understand the story behind the stories.

Tests readers' knowledge of classic and contemporary literature.

Tours nearly 200 bestselling books, ferrets out their persistent themes and determines what those say about what we believe and how we relate to one another.

Addresses these intriguing questions as What makes a work of literature good or bad? How freely can the reader interpret it? Could a nursery rhyme like Baa Baa Black Sheep be full of concealed loathing, resentment, and aggression?

Exploring children's classics from many eras and relating them to the authors who wrote them.

Uses diverse authors to show how the wit, wisdom, and enchantment of the written word can inform and enrich nearly every aspect of life, from education and work to love and death.

Celebrates one of the most influential authors and artists of the 20th century: Theodor Seuss Geisel, best known as "Dr. Seuss."

Explores philosophical concepts in the literature of Dr. Seuss.

Reviews and critiques the works of many Christian authors who created mythological stories.

Reveals Madeleine L'Engle in all her complexity, through a series of incisive interviews with the people who knew her most intimately.

Tells how classic literature inspired Christian authors.

Presents the genre of mythopoeic fantasy from a holistic perspective, arguing that this central genre of fantasy literature is largely misunderstood as a result of decades of incomplete and reductionist literary studies.

Madeleine L'Engle's circle of friends and peers (writers, poets, scholars, theologians) provide an intimate portrait of L'Engle and respond to her writings and mentoring influence.

Addresses the ways literature and theory have engaged with literary criticism, philosophy, and history and related concerns.

Presents the 25 most spiritually influential and important books for Christians to read.

Shows how to discover the truest reality in Aslan, the lion in Narnia and Christ in this life.

Explore C.S. Lewis's life, works, and the world of Narnia the fun and easy way.

Presents Lewis's earlier years life when he studied privately and at Oxford, served in the British army, was wounded in France, entered into his affair with Janie Moore, and wrote and published his first book of poems.

Introduces the surviving fragments of Lewis's translation of Virgil's epic poem, which were rescued from a bonfire.

Reviews and critiques the works of many Christian authors who created mythological stories.

Challenges the standard interpretation that Lewis, Tolkien, Charles Williams, Owen Barfield, and the other Inklings had little influence on one another's work.

A uniquely in-depth study of the crossover novel, Falconer engages with a ground-breaking range of sources, from primary texts, to child and adult reader responses, to cultural and critical theory.

Covers the six decades since the end of World War II.

Highlights spiritual treasures below the surface of C. S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia.

Shows how Narnia relates to other imaginative worlds and children's literature about the history within the stories of Narnia and how Narnia fits into Lewis's other work.

Explores the deep spiritual themes of redemption and grace found in the popular Chronicles of Narnia series by C. S. Lewis.

Surveys 400 English children's fantasies from 1850 to 2000.

Enables C. S. Lewis enthusiasts to gain access and understanding into the mind of the author of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and the creator of the world of Narnia.

Evaluates Dostoevsky, Leo Tolstoy, Charles Dickens, Robert Louis Stevenson, Thomas Hardy, George Eliot, the Bronte sisters, Victor Hugo, Herman Melville, G.K. Chesterton, C.S. Lewis, Mark Twain, and Ralph Ellison from an orthodox Christian perspective.

Explores the great moral themes of Lewis's seven-volume Chronicles of Narnia series, paying particular attention to key vices and virtues.

Leads readers into a deeper understanding of Christ and will help them discover how these tales by C. S. Lewis beautifully expose a dynamic, joyful, loving God who wants his creatures to experience deep joy and delight.

Points out general themes in the works of C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, and J.K. Rowling and matches them to the ancient motifs of the biblical writings.

Practical and amusing guide to literature and explores major themes, literary models, narrative devices, and form.

Explores symbols, hidden meanings, and easily missed details that swirl in and around Lewis's The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

Offers a detailed look at C. S. Lewis's enchanting stories and focuses on the extraordinary intellect and imagination of the man behind the Wardrobe.

Essays on the major concerns and questions regarding literature and theology.

Helps the reader understand the growing interest in Lewis and his work.

Explains the origins of C.S. Lewis's Narnia.

One reader's long, tumultuous relationship with C.S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia that looks at its creator, Clive Staples Lewis.

Covers over 500 classic and contemporary works of Christian fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and drama, providing a plot summary, analysis of Christian themes, and an annotated bibliography for each title.

Examines the important ways in which Lewis so clearly echoes Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queen and John Milton's Paradise Lost in The Chronicles of Narnia.

Sheds new light on the making of the original Narnian, C. S. Lewis himself.

Reveals the spiritual world of Narnia as seen through the main characters' interactions with Aslan the Lion.

Collection of his essays and critical reviews organized around the Chronicles of Narnia, Lewis's poetry, Lewis and the two women poets with whom he had lasting relationships, and a critical perspective on the way in which critical interest in Lewis has developed over the last thirty years.

Examines The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe from Lewis's point of view, shedding light on his imagination and use of literary forms.

Provides a guided tour of Prince Caspian that highlights characters, setting and framework, with rich background details to enhance your reading of the story.

Theologists, psychologists, academics, feminists and fantasists offer humor, insight, and fresh perspectives on the Chronicles of Narnia series.

Unveils a fun-filled world based on intriguing Bible insights for every Narniac!

Addresses the ways literature and theory have engaged with literary criticism, philosophy, and history and related concerns.

Shows that the best way to enter Narnia is to read the Chronicles of Narnia as fairy tales.

Explores Christian themes in C.S. Lewis's children's stories.

Examines this British Victorian writer's employment of female figures to represent Deity.

Reviews and critiques the works of many Christian authors who created mythological stories.

Tells how classic literature inspired Christian authors.

Addresses the ways literature and theory have engaged with literary criticism, philosophy, and history and related concerns.

Uncover the theological currents that lie just under the surface of Tolkien's epic tale.

Reviews and critiques the works of many Christian authors who created mythological stories.

Gives a balanced treatment of Tolkien by discussing Christian elements in the Hobbits without finding Christian elements everywhere and introduces a side of Tolkien that is rarely explored but vitally important to his writings.

Challenges the standard interpretation that Lewis, Tolkien, Charles Williams, Owen Barfield, and the other Inklings had little influence on one another's work.

Traces the evolution of J.R.R. Tolkien's literary world, stories, and characters from their earliest written forms to the final revisions Tolkien penned shortly before his death in 1973.

Examines biblical and Christian themes that are found in the works of J. R. R. Tolkien.

Shows how a Christian worldview and Christian themes undergird Tolkien's Middle-earth writings and how they are fundamentally important to understanding his vision.

Points out general themes in the works of C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, and J.K. Rowling and matches them to the ancient motifs of the biblical writings.

Attempts to illuminate the structure of Tolkien's work, allowing the reader to appreciate its broad, overarching design and its careful, painstaking construction.

Includes discussions of all the fundamental issues in Tolkien scholarship written by the leading scholars in the field.

Examines the source and style of Tolkien's Catholic imagination, from Bibilical typology to personal relationships.

Essays on the major concerns and questions regarding literature and theology.

Tells how classic literature inspired Christian authors.

Takes us on the road with Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, and selected classic works of literature to show how great stories bring us so much more than entertainment.

Organizes the philosophical themes in The Lord of the Rings into 50 categories with over 1,000 references to the text.

Illuminates the multifaceted appeal of Tolkien's prose style in dimensions ranging from his fantastic realism to his revitalizing imagery to his dynamic narrative to his expansive characterization to his engaging language.

Provides a comprehensive, informed, critical and theoretical analysis of both the book and film trilogies.

Show that Christian humanism informs a broad and important literature and encourages a genuine diversity of thought based on reason, nature, and the accomplishments of artistic genius.

Analysis of Tolkien's Roman Catholicism and the role it plays in understanding his writings.

Surveys the predecessors of and influences on Tolkien and explores the web of elements that make up Tolkienian fantasy.

Tells the full story of how Tolkien embarked on the creation of Middle-earth in his youth as the world around him was plunged into World War I.

Examines Tolkien's modern world fantasy with its postmodern implications and and its significance in understanding the intersection between traditionalist and counter-culture criticisms of the modern.

Examines the theological relationship between creation and creativity in the works of J.R.R. Tolkien.

Gathers together what the editors believe is the best criticism on the Lord of the Rings over the past 50 years.

Examines heroic qualities in the women and other beloved, though less-celebrated, characters in the The Lord of the Rings books and movies.

Examines the role of war in Tolkien's life and works.