{"title":"Critical Companions To Popular Contemporary Writers","description":"\u003cp\u003eDelve into the minds behind your favourite modern authors with this insightful series. Each volume offers critical perspectives, exploring the themes, techniques, and cultural impact of today's most popular writers.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"michael-crichton-book-elizabeth-trembley-9780313294143","title":"Michael Crichton","description":"Until now, Michael Crichton's many readers have had nowhere to turn for more information on one of America's most popular novelists. This companion features clear analyses of Crichton's life and literary influences, as well as chapters on each of his 13 novels to date. It will help Crichton's readers to learn more about how significant events in his life affected the development of his fiction and literary style and how the heritage of popular fiction, including mystery, gothic, adventure, and science fiction, influenced his writing. 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In the course of his long career, Vidal has set new intellectual and artistic standards for American historical fiction and has also established himself in the first rank of contemporary social satirists. This is the first full-length study to include Vidal's most recent novels and the first designed to meet the needs of the general reader as well as students of contemporary literature. It includes discussions of Lincoln, Empire, Hollywood, and Live from Golgotha, as well as his earlier novels. Baker and Gibson show that while Vidal's novels are tremendously entertaining, they are also serious examinations of a recurring theme—the decline of the West in general and the decline of the United States in particular.  A biographical sketch of the writer precedes a general discussion of Vidal's early novels. Each of the following chapters examines an individual novel, from Julian (1964) to Live from Golgotha (1992), with special emphasis on artistic development and historical and intellectual context. To help the reader understand the recurring themes in Vidal's fiction, Baker and Gibson group the novels by type. First are the historical fictions, those of the ancient world (Julian, Creation), and the American Chronicles, Vidal's family saga of the United States over the course of its history. Second are the social satires, what Vidal calls his inventions, of which the best known is Myra Breckinridge. The discussion of each novel includes sections on plot and character development, thematic issues, narrative style, and an alternative critical approach from which to read the novel. A complete bibliography of Vidal's fiction, select bibliography of his other works, and bibliography of reviews and criticism of the works examined complete the book and will be helpful to students, librarians, and adult book discussion participants. 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She focuses on the female adolescent experience and connects with her readers by creating characters who reflect adolescent struggles, confusion, and pain. Huntley shows that the power of Andrews's novels lies in her creation of an enthralling nightmare world, like a fairy tale gone berserk, in which the young heroine struggles with adolescent fears and frustrations in suddenly dangerous and bizarre domestic settings. Huntley locates the novels in the tradition of the female gothic, which Andrews refashioned into her own brand of gothicism: a blend of the gothic with horror fiction and the fairy tale.  Huntley's study of Andrews's novels provides close textual analysis. The discussion of each novel is subdivided into sections on plot, character development and point of view, thematic development, generic conventions, and alternative critical perspectives such as feminist and psychological approaches, which offer additional insight and help to explain the attraction of adolescent readers to the Andrews novels. The novels and series covered in this work include Flowers in the Attic, the Dollanganger Chronicles (Petals on the Wind, If There Be Thorns, Seeds of Yesterday), Garden of Shadows, My Sweet Audrina, and the Casteel Story (Heaven, Dark Angel, Fallen Hearts). In addition, Huntley discusses the novels written under the name V. C. Andrews by Andrew Niederman after V. C. Andrews's death in 1986. This study will open up possibilities for discussion about Andrews's work—its popularity, strange durability, and its special appeal to young adult readers. 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This first critical study of her work reveals the serious intent of a popular writer of popular fiction. It examines common themes—the consequences of crime on innocent victims, how crime forces its victims to confront their deepest psychological fears and the terror of the past—and explores Clark's treatment of current social issues from capital punishment to child abuse. The study provides close textual analysis of each novel in turn, revealing the surprising depth of Clark's work and her extraordinary gift for working within a number of literary genres under the guise of popular fiction.    This study analyzes all of Clark's fiction including her most recent Remember Me and The Lottery Winner. Pelzer places Clark's fiction in the context of its genre and provides close textual analysis of each novel. In addition she provides alternative critical perspectives that offer additional insight. For ease of use by the reader, each chapter is devoted to a single novel and is subdivided into sections on narrative strategies (plot, time, and setting), thematic development, character development, and alternative perspectives on the novel. Pelzer also analyzes Clark's use of generic conventions as well as her distinctive style. This study helps the reader to understand the deeper and richer aspects of Clark's fiction and to appreciate why her reputation is so well deserved. A key purchase for secondary school, public, and community college library collections.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50123910709521,"sku":"CIN0313294135G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52126928503057,"sku":"NLS9780313294136","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0313294135.jpg?v=1750973850"},{"product_id":"ray-bradbury-book-robin-anne-reid-9780313309014","title":"Ray Bradbury","description":"Reviewers and critics have not always agreed on how well the science fiction label fit Ray Bradbury, but the immense popularity of works like The Martian Chronicles and The Illustrated Man leaves no doubt as to the enduring status of this important writer. This Critical Companion examines, in a Literary Heritage chapter, the situation of Bradbury's works within the science fiction genre and explores thematic concerns that set works like Fahrenheit 451 and Dandelion Wine apart from conventional popular SF writings. This introduction to Bradbury, written especially for students, traces Bradbury's interesting life, examining his early literary efforts, his forays into Hollywood, and his recent writing projects. Eight of Bradbury's major works are discussed at length, each in its own chapter, including two works published within the last ten years: A Graveyard for Lunatics (1990) and Green Shadows, White Whale (1992). Clear, thoughtful analysis is also given for The Martian Chronicles, The Illustrated Man, Something Wicked This Way Comes, and Death Is a Lonely Business.  In each chapter, analysis of the important literary components is given: plot, setting, characters, and themes. In addition, the genesis, critical reception, and an alternate reading of each work is also discussed in clear terms for students and general readers. Suggestions for further reading on Bradbury and his writings are also provided in a select yet extensive bibliography. This volume is ideal both for students reading Bradbury for the first time and for dedicated Bradbury fans who wish to appreciate his work with a deeper critical perspective.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50336350437649,"sku":"CIN0313309019G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52453922636049,"sku":"NLS9780313309014","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0313309019.jpg?v=1751463194"},{"product_id":"robert-ludlum-book-gina-macdonald-9780313299711","title":"Robert Ludlum","description":"There's more than meets the eye in the fiction of the master of the espionage thriller Robert Ludlum. In a study that examines seventeen of Ludlum's novels in depth, including the latest, The Apocalypse Watch (1995), Macdonald uncovers the serious themes running through the novels: the role of the individual in preserving democracy, the value of competing voices, the failure of educational institutions to preserve ideals, the temptations of power, the importance of personal loyalties in the face of impersonal organizations, and the nature of evil. She shows how Ludlum's novels are valuable in helping us to understand modern paranoia—our fear of conspiracies, terrorism, barbarism, and intolerance. A personal interview granted by Ludlum for this book illuminates the influences on his craft, especially his long experience in the theater, which affects his sense of pacing, characterization, humor, and suspense.    After an initial biographical chapter, Macdonald examines Ludlum's literary roots in suspense novels and discusses the genre. Each succeeding chapter examines a group of his novels tied together thematically or, in the case of the Bourne series, by recurring characters. The discussion of each novel is organized into sections on plot and structure, character, and theme, and features an alternate critical interpretation, such as Freudian, Marxist, or reader response criticism, which offers the reader another fresh perspective from which to examine the concerns of the novel. Novels covered in depth are: Trevayne, The Cry of the Halidon, The Scarlatti Inheritance, The Rhinemann Exchange, The Gemini Contenders, The Holcroft Covenant, The Road to Gandolfo, The Road to Omaha, The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Supremacy, The Bourne Ultimatum, The Matarese Circle, The Parsifal Mosaic, The Aquitaine Progression, The Icarus Agenda, The Scorpio Illusion, and The Apocalypse Watch. This critical companion includes an up-to-date bibliography of all of Ludlum's published works, as well as selected reviews of all works examined in this study.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50347705237777,"sku":"CIN0313299714G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52340095123729,"sku":"NLS9780313299711","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0313299714.jpg?v=1750877659"},{"product_id":"walter-mosley-book-charles-e-wilson-jr-9780313320224","title":"Walter Mosley","description":"Readers of this Critical Companion will discover the richness of Mosley's writings, as well as his contributions to the African-American literary tradition, the genres of detective writing and science fiction, and American literature in general. Mosley's influences, inspirations, obstacles, and successes are presented in a richly drawn biographical chapter, which incorporates the author's most recent interviews.    Mosley's first detective novel, Devil in a Blue Dress (1990), established a new voice in detective fiction, offering an African American perspective that resonated to a broad spectrum of readers. From his Easy Rawlins mysteries to his science fiction, Mosley invites readers into unexpected worlds and challenges his audience to think beyond their assumptions about society. Perhaps because he manages to link the trials of his characters to the enigma of the human condition, his prolific, genre-spanning work has met with both popular and critical success.    This is the only book-length study of Mosley's fiction, covering eight of his key novels, including his most recent, Bad Boy Brawley Brown (2002). 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With these five books, Angelou has created a work of epic scope that covers a quarter century of American and African American history, from the beginning of World War II to the civil rights movement. These volumes stretch over time and place, from Arkansas to Africa, as Angelou grows from a confused child in a Southern town to an accomplished adult. Throughout her life journey depicted in the autobiographies, Angelou grapples with the issues of motherhood and race and reveals the struggles of being a black mother in America, extending her perspective in the fourth and fifth volumes to encompass an African setting.    A biographical chapter is enriched by an exclusive interview granted by Angelou, and a chapter on genre discusses Angelou's work in the context of the tradition of American and African American autobiography. A chapter is devoted to each of the five volumes of her serial autobiography—I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings(1970), Gather Together in My Name (1974), Singin' and Swingin' and Gettin' Merry Like Christmas(1976), The Heart of a Woman (1981), and  All God's Children Need Traveling Shoes(1986). The discussion of each novel features sections on narrative point of view, plot development, character development, thematic issues, style and literary devices, and an alternate critical approach from which to read the work. A complete bibliography of Angelou's work, plus a list of reviews of each work and selected secondary critical and biographical sources, complete the work. This companion is ideal for students, teachers, and others interested in Maya Angelou, the African American experience, and the craft of autobiography.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50347726307601,"sku":"CIN0313303258G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51495043793169,"sku":"GOR005028664","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":52704778289425,"sku":"CIN0313303258VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0313303258.jpg?v=1751429181"},{"product_id":"john-jakes-book-mary-ellen-jones-9780313295300","title":"John Jakes","description":"John Jakes, often called the people's author and godfather of the historical novel, has made American history come to life in his series The Kent Family Chronicles and The North and South Trilogy. 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