“Superb . . . [The] final, splendid, most personal work of [Janet Malcolm’s] long career.” —Charles Finch, The New York Times Book ReviewFor decades, Janet Malcolm’s books and dispatches for The New Yorker and The New York Review of Books poked and...

An inside look at the politics of book reviewing, from the assignment and writing of reviews to why critics think we should listen to what they have to sayTaking readers behind the scenes in the world of fiction reviewing, Inside the Critics’ Circle...

Newly published in paperback, Myths of the English is a fascinating exploration of Englishness: the images, characters, myths and peculiarities that have contributed to the self-image of a nation.

The English Romantic period―when, as Wordsworth wrote, "the whole earth/The beauty wore of promise"―was also a time in which many of our contemporary attitudes, conventions, and institutions originated. The present book explores, in fascinating depth,...

Through the figure of Josephine Baker, Second Skin tells the story of an unexpected yet enduring intimacy between the invention of a modernist style and the theatricalization of black skin at the turn of the twentieth century. Stepping outside of the...

The Renaissance jurist Alberico Gentili once quipped that, just like comedies, all wars end in a marriage. In medieval and early modern Europe, marriage treaties were a perennial feature of the diplomatic landscape. When one ruler decided to make peace...

In his lively and illuminating study of Cyril Connolly, noted biographer Clive Fisher focuses his lens on the life of one of England's most controversial and influential literary figures. Revered for his intellect, feared for his acerbic wit, the...

Named a Most Anticipated Book of 2023 by LitHub and The Millions! From one of the most engaging and brilliant writers of our time comes a “not to be missed” (LitHub) collection of eleven essays about growing up in Ireland during radical change; about...

From the UK Poet Laureate and bestselling translator, a spirited book that demystifies and celebrates the art of poetry todayIn A Vertical Art, acclaimed poet Simon Armitage takes a refreshingly common-sense approach to an art form that can easily lend...

A wide-ranging reevaluation of utopian literature and philosophy, from Plato to Chang-Rae LeeExamining literary and philosophical writing about ideal societies from Greek antiquity to the present, Inventions of Nemesis offers a striking new take on...

A splendid new translation of an extraordinary work of modern literature—featuring facing-page commentary by Kafka’s acclaimed biographerIn 1917 and 1918, Franz Kafka wrote a set of more than 100 aphorisms, known as the Zürau aphorisms, after the...

"Professor Davidson---an accomplished literary critic---offers a focused and balanced analysis of poetry, film, and the arts honed with his excellent knowledge of the latest advances in disability studies. He is brilliant at reading texts in a...