Literary Companion Series
Series · 38
books · 1969-2003
Books in series
#1
Literary Companion Series - J.R.R. Tolkien (paperback edition)
1999
Noted critics explore Tolkein's heroic epics, including The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings . Considered masterpieces of the fantasy genre, Tolkein's stories center around creatures that inhabit the world of Middle Earth and their struggles with the forces around them.
#2
Literary Companion Series
One Flew Over the Cukoo's Nest
1999
Ken Kesey's stream of consciousness description of patients in a mental institution questions the line between sanity and madness. Essays include discussion of the psychological implications in the novel as well as themes and character analysis.
#3
Literary Companion Series - Great Expectations
1998
Charles Dickens' story of Pip's rise from orphanhood to riches contains many of the elements common to Dickens' novels, including social criticism, vivid characters, a mixture of humor and tragedy, and an expressive use of language.
#5
Metamorphosis
2001
Readings on The Metamorphosis offers varying critical perspectives on famed German writer Franz Kafka's haunting novella, The Metamorphosis, in which Gregor Samsa awakens one morning to discover he has changed into an insect. Noted Kafka critics Robert Gray, Walter H. Sokel, Max Brod (Kafka's, confidant and biographer), and many other scholars contribute to this unique collection by presenting critical interpretations of the work, discussing the art and technical elements of the novella, exploring the psychology of the characters, and delving into the recurring themes throughout the piece.
#6
Literary Companion Series - Silas Marner
2000
George Eliot's novel is examined in essays that discuss the personal influences on Eliot's work, the various themes expressed in the novel, the characters and their motivations, and the structure and language that Eliot used in her work.
#7
Twelfth Night (Literary Companion
2000
Shakespeare's play about disguise and revelation has been called both his finest and most controversial achievement. Greenhaven's anthology explores characters and themes within this enduring comedy.
#8
Literary Companion Series - Readings on Robert Frost
1999
The "people's poet" is covered in memorable essays that cover individual poems as well as Frost's major themes and imagery.
#10
Othello
1999
Shakespeare's classic tale of jealousy, betrayal, and their tragic consequences remains one of the bard's greatest works. The play continues to captivate actors, theatergoers, scholars, critics, and ordinary readers in each new generation.
#11
Readings on The Importance of Being Earnest
2000
This witty play is considered Oscar Wilde's greatest dramatic achievement.
#14
Waiting for Godot
2001
Greenhaven Press presents a comprehensive yet accessible avenue to literary research and analysis for young adults. This unique anthology series provides an engaging approach to readers seeking literary analysis and criticism of the lives and works of leading American, British, and world authors. Every title in the Literary Companion Series is a user-friendly and lucid resource for young adults researching the world's great literary lives and works. Contributing writers' essays are taken from a broad spectrum of sources and are expertly edited to meet the reading levels of young adults. Every book includes an in-depth biography of the author that emphasizes the social and historical context of his or her life and works. Each essay's introduction summarizes the contributing author's themes and insights and provides a guide for locating main ideas. The addition of vocabulary aids also increases comprehension. This is a series that all teachers of literature and their students will welcome and use. A great resource for any library serving young adults.
#15
Readings on the Histories
1998
Book by Swisher, Clarice
#16
Readings on Wuthering Heights
1998
Essays discuss the novel's characterization, plot, themes, and portrayal of psychological problems
#17
Readings on the Catcher in the Rye
1998
Book by Engel, Steven
#18
Readings on The Old Man and the Sea
1998
Essays discuss the novel's themes, symbolism, biblical allusions, and critical reception
#19
Literary Companion Series - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
1997
Dostoyevsky explored the grand themes of literature. Human evil and goodness, the possibility of salvation, and the nature of God are examined in massive works such as The Brothers Karamazov and Crime and Punishment.
#20
Literary Companion Series - The Call of the Wild
1999
Jack London's novel is an allegorical tale about adapting to the environment to survive. Articles examine the novel's main themes, including London's personal and political beliefs that influenced the book.
#24
The Plague
2001
Greenhaven Press presents a comprehensive yet accessible avenue to literary research and analysis for young adults. This unique anthology series provides an engaging approach to readers seeking literary analysis and criticism of the lives and works of leading American, British, and world authors. Every title in the Literary Companion Series is a user-friendly and lucid resource for young adults researching the world's great literary lives and works. Contributing writers' essays are taken from a broad spectrum of sources and are expertly edited to meet the reading levels of young adults. Every book includes an in-depth biography of the author that emphasizes the social and historical context of his or her life and works. Each essay's introduction summarizes the contributing author's themes and insights and provides a guide for locating main ideas. The addition of vocabulary aids also increases comprehension. This is a series that all teachers of literature and their students will welcome and use. A great resource for any library serving young adults.
#25
Antigone
1999
One of Sophocles' most well-known tragedies, Antigone stands out as one of Western literature's greatest hymns to human worth and dignity.
#26
Our Town
1999
This Pulitzer Prize-winning play by Thornton Wilder is considered a classic portrayal of small-town middle-class life in America. Essays included discuss the theatrical principles Wilder utilized, literary style and criticism as well as dominant themes in this play.
#28
Readings on The Sun Also Rises
2001
Ernest Hemingway did more to transform the style of English prose than any other writer in the twentieth century, and it all began with the publication of his first novel The Sun Also Rises . This anthology examines the craft behind the novel which established Hemingway as the voice of his generation and why even after decades of study it is still considered his most important work.
#29
Readings on a Raisin in the Sun
2000
Lorraine Hansberry's play is a psychological study of a working class black family on the south side of Chicago in the 1940s. This collection of essays explores the dominant characters and themes in the play and looks at its representation in various stage and screen adaptations.
#30
Moby Dick
2003
Many critics praise Herman Melville's Moby-Dick as the greatest American novel ever written. This anthology examines the various aspects of the novel that have made it such an influential work, including its literary themes, political philosophies, and religious explorations.
#31
The Prince and the Pauper
2001
Greenhaven Press presents a comprehensive yet accessible avenue to literary research and analysis for young adults. This unique anthology series provides an engaging approach to readers seeking literary analysis and criticism of the lives and works of leading American, British, and world authors. Every title in the Literary Companion Series is a user-friendly and lucid resource for young adults researching the world's great literary lives and works. Contributing writers' essays are taken from a broad spectrum of sources and are expertly edited to meet the reading levels of young adults. Every book includes an in-depth biography of the author that emphasizes the social and historical context of his or her life and works. Each essay's introduction summarizes the contributing author's themes and insights and provides a guide for locating main ideas. The addition of vocabulary aids also increases comprehension. This is a series that all teachers of literature and their students will welcome and use. A great resource for any library serving young adults.
#32
Readings on Ethan Frome
1999
Essays provide a brief look at the life of Edith Wharton and examines the novel Ethan Frome
#33
Readings on My Antonia
2000
In Willa Cather's best-known work, she honors the immigrant settlers of the American plains.
#34
Cry the Beloved Country
2000
Alan Paton's novel tells the story of the South African people and their struggles in the wake of colonial rule.
#35
Literary Companion Series - The Diary of a Young Girl
1997
Since its publication, Anne Frank's Diary has moved children and adults alike with its moving, unselfconscious tale of a young girl coming of age during the Holocaust. Essays cover a wide range of themes and historical background.
#36
Readings on West Side Story
2001
Greenhaven Press presents a comprehensive yet accessible avenue to literary research and analysis for young adults. This unique anthology series provides an engaging approach to readers seeking literary analysis and criticism of the lives and works of leading American, British, and world authors. Every title in the Literary Companion Series is a user-friendly and lucid resource for young adults researching the world's great literary lives and works. Contributing writers' essays are taken from a broad spectrum of sources and are expertly edited to meet the reading levels of young adults. Every book includes an in-depth biography of the author that emphasizes the social and historical context of his or her life and works. Each essay's introduction summarizes the contributing author's themes and insights and provides a guide for locating main ideas. The addition of vocabulary aids also increases comprehension. This is a series that all teachers of literature and their students will welcome and use. A great resource for any library serving young adults.
#37
Readings on the Call of the Wild
1999
An unusual dog, part St. Bernard, part Scotch shepherd, is forcibly taken to Alaska where he eventually becomes leader of a wolf pack.
#38
Readings on Native Son
1969
Chapters discuss the imagery, characterization, setting, and themes found in Richard Wright's powerful novel detailing the treatment of blacks within a predominantly white society.
#41
Literary Companion Series - Cyrano de Bergerac
2000
Edmund Rostand's famous play describes the adventures of Cyrano, a seventeenth-century nobleman famous for his large nose. Although Cyrano desperately loves the beautiful Roxanne, he agrees to help his rival, Christian, win her heart.
#42
Literary Companion Series - Thornton Wilder
1998
Chapters discuss the most well known works of this American playwright and novelist. General essays examine Wilder's major themes and move on to specific works, including The Bridge of San Luis Rey, Our Town, and The Skin of Our Teeth.
#43
Readings on The Prince and the Pauper
2001
Greenhaven Press presents a comprehensive yet accessible avenue to literary research and analysis for young adults. This unique anthology series provides an engaging approach to readers seeking literary analysis and criticism of the lives and works of leading American, British, and world authors. Every title in the "Literary Companion Series" is a user-friendly and lucid resource for young adults researching the world's great literary lives and works. Contributing writers' essays are taken from a broad spectrum of sources and are expertly edited to meet the reading levels of young adults. Every book includes an in-depth biography of the author that emphasizes the social and historical context of his or her life and works. Each essay's introduction summarizes the contributing author's themes and insights and provides a guide for locating main ideas. The addition of vocabulary aids also increases comprehension. This is a series that all teachers of literature and their students will welcome and use. A great resource for any library serving young adults.
#44
Readings on Billy Budd
2002
Herman Melville's final short novel, Billy Budd, which was published posthumously in 1924, has evoked considerable critical attention. The much-revised manuscript that Melville left at his death made transcription difficult, so the earliest editions of the novel differ markedly from the standard transcription established in 1962. Interpretations of individual characters and the overall meaning of the novel differ even more significantly. This book is composed of essays which address the text, plot, and controversial characters; essays which reveal the history of competing interpretations of the novel; and contemporary essays focused on central themes and issues.
#45
Readings on Our Town
2000
Essays provide a brief look at the life of Thornton Wilder and examines the play "Our Town."
#46
Readings on Tess of the D'Urbervilles
1999
Offers eighteen essays that explore thematic, historical, symbolic, and character aspects of Hardy's novel, including similarities to Greek tragedy, Tess' rejection of Christian world views, and determinism versus choice.
#47
West Side Story
2001
Greenhaven Press presents a comprehensive yet accessible avenue to literary research and analysis for young adults. This unique anthology series provides an engaging approach to readers seeking literary analysis and criticism of the lives and works of leading American, British, and world authors. Every title in the Literary Companion Series is a user-friendly and lucid resource for young adults researching the world's great literary lives and works. Contributing writers' essays are taken from a broad spectrum of sources and are expertly edited to meet the reading levels of young adults. Every book includes an in-depth biography of the author that emphasizes the social and historical context of his or her life and works. Each essay's introduction summarizes the contributing author's themes and insights and provides a guide for locating main ideas. The addition of vocabulary aids also increases comprehension. This is a series that all teachers of literature and their students will welcome and use. A great resource for any library serving young adults.
#48
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich
2000
Aleksandr Solzhenitsen's novel explores his experiences in the Siberian prison camps of the Stalinist Soviet Union. This modern classic describes a typical day in the life of an inmate, Ivan Denisovich.
Authors
Jack London
Author · 184 books
John Griffith Chaney (1876-1916), better known as Jack London, was an American novelist, journalist, and social activist. A pioneer of commercial fiction and American magazines, he was one of the first American authors to become an international celebrity and earn a large fortune from writing. He was also an innovator in the genre that would later become known as science fiction. His most famous works include The Call of the Wild and White Fang, both set in the Klondike Gold Rush, as well as the short stories, "To Build a Fire", "An Odyssey of the North", and "Love of Life". He also wrote about the South Pacific in stories such as "The Pearls of Parlay", and "The Heathen". London was part of the radical literary group, "The Crowd," in San Francisco and a passionate advocate of unionization, workers' rights, and socialism. He wrote several works dealing with these topics, such as his dystopian novel, The Iron Heel, his non-fiction exposé The People of the Abyss, War of the Classes, and Before Adam. London died November 22, 1916, in a sleeping porch in a cottage on his ranch. London's ashes were buried on his property, not far from the Wolf House. The grave is marked by a mossy boulder. The buildings and property were later preserved as Jack London State Historic Park, in Glen Ellen, California.
Christopher Smith
Author · 3 books
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
Oscar Wilde
Author · 230 books
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish playwright, poet, and author of numerous short stories, and one novel. Known for his biting wit, and a plentitude of aphorisms, he became one of the most successful playwrights of the late Victorian era in London, and one of the greatest celebrities of his day. Several of his plays continue to be widely performed, especially The Importance of Being Earnest. As the result of a widely covered series of trials, Wilde suffered a dramatic downfall and was imprisoned for two years hard labour after being convicted of "gross indecency" with other men. After Wilde was released from prison he set sail for Dieppe by the night ferry. He never returned to Ireland or Britain, and died in poverty.
