Ian Buruma explores the life and death of Baruch Spinoza, the Enlightenment thinker whose belief in freedom of thought and speech resonates in our own time

Part of Virago's Five Gold Reads: Celebrating five decades of the feminist publisher, each of the Five Gold Reads represents an iconic moment in Virago's history, from the 1970s to today. Representing the 2000s, Natasha Walter's highly acclaimed, controversial and much needed look at our highly sexualised culture

In Bibliotherapy, bibliotherapist and counsellor Bijal Shah draws on her personal experience, work with clients and research to explore the healing power of reading.

From the history of how therapeutic reading evolved - and the important role played by great writers such as the Stoics, Montaigne, Eliot and Wordsworth in its popularisation - to first-hand stories from clients who have struggled with grief, relationships and illness, this book explores just how comforting and life-changing read...

This remarkably broad and informative book offers an introduction to and overview of World Literature. Tracing the term from its earliest roots and situating it within a number of relevant contexts from postcolonialism to postmodernism, Theo Dhaen examines: the return of the term "world literature" and its changing meaning Goethes concept of Weltliteratur and how this relates to current debatestheories and theorists who have had an impact on world literaturenon-canonical and less-known litera...

This third edition of Hans Bertens bestselling book is an essential guide to the often confusing and complicated world of literary theory. Exploring a broad range of topics from Marxist and feminist criticism to postmodernism and new historicism Literary Theory: The Basics covers contemporary topics including:reception theory and reader response theorythe new criticism of postmodernismthe after theory debatepost-humanism, biopolitics and animal studiesaestheticsLiterary Theory: The Basics hel...

A remarkable feminist history and biography that features fragments from the five-decade career of an iconic artist.

Reeling from the trauma of a life in upheaval, he wrote almost no music and quickly had to reinvent himself as a fêted virtuoso pianist, building up untold wealth and meeting the stars, from Walt Disney and Charlie Chaplin to his Russian contemporaries and polar opposites, Prokofiev and Stravinsky.