"Gambling permeated the daily lives of eighteenth-century Britons of all classes. This book explicates the relationship between the rampant gambling in eighteenth-century England, the new forms of gambling-inspired capitalism that transformed British society, and novels that int…
From the publisher. The conversation, sometimes heated, about the influence of Christianity on the writings of J.R.R. Tolkien has a long history. What has been lacking is a forum for a civilized discussion about the topic, as well as a chronological overview of the major argumen…
From the publisher. The conversation, sometimes heated, about the influence of Christianity on the writings of J.R.R. Tolkien has a long history. What has been lacking is a forum for a civilized discussion about the topic, as well as a chronological overview of the major argumen…
In the first book to argue for the benefits of boredom, Peter Toohey dispels the myth that it's simply a childish emotion or an existential malaise like Jean-Paul Sartre's nausea. He shows how boredom is, in fact, one of our most common and constructive emotions and is an essent…
This book traces a curious pattern in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century representations of femininity: women pose a threat when they conform too willingly to social conventions. Exemplary texts describe chaste women who kill their rapists, constant wives who make marriage a deb…
The first volume to consider childhood over eight centuries of British writing, this book traces the literary child from medieval to contemporary texts. Written by international experts, the volume's essays challenge earlier readings of childhood and offer fascinating contributi…
"Novels by significant Modernist authors can be described asromans à clef, providing insight into restrictions governing the representation of female homosexuality in the early twentieth century. Nair argues that key novels of the period represented same-sex desire through the e…
Shakespeare's culture of violence
by Cohen, Derek
fromContemporary interpretations of Shakespeare
"Chinese Art examines the meanings behind the hundreds of common motifs and symbols found in all forms of Chinese art, exposing their linguistic, metaphoric or historic origins, common usage, and diverse applications. Plants, flowers, real and imaginary animals and birds, reptil…
Historicizing masculinity: the criminal and the gentleman -- Always making excuses: the rake and criminality -- Romancing the highwayman -- Welcome the outlaw: pirates, maroons, and Caribbean countercultures -- Privacy and ideology: elite male crime in Frances Burney's Evelina a…
With the growth of postcolonial theory in recent decades, scholarly views of Roman imperialism and colonialism have been evolving and shifting. In this book Eric Adler explores the degree to which ancient historians of Rome were capable of valorizing foreigners and presenting cr…