A resource for pupils studying pre-20th-century texts and poetry at Key Stages Two and Three. Arranged by theme, and in short, bite-sized sections, the book offers an approach to the work of writers such as Dickens, Bronte, Tennyson, Hardy, Lear and Browning, setting texts in the light of their social, cultural and historical context. In addition to prose, poetry and drama, pupils are presented with contemporary examples of writing in other genres, such as letters, diaries and newspaper reports, to provide a wide-ranging view of the literary era.