Fiction, Novelists & Prose Writers

Jane Austen: A Very Short Introduction

Tom Keymer

9780198725954
Paperback
January 2022

Very Short Introductions

Jane Austen is one of the most widely-read novelists in the English language, and one of very few pre-Victorian writers to have a large popular following. This book situates Austen in the literary and historical context of her time, and combines critical introductions to each of her six major novels with the exploration of key themes of her work.

The Short Story: A Very Short Introduction

Andrew Kahn

9780198754633
Paperback
December 2021

Very Short Introductions

Drawing on examples from across the globe and throughout history, Andrew Kahn explores the key characteristics of the short story. He shows how its rise was intertwined with international print culture, and discusses the essential techniques within this thriving literary genre, as well as the ways in which it is constantly innovated, even today.

James Joyce: A Very Short Introduction

Colin MacCabe

9780192894472
Paperback
October 2021

Very Short Introductions

James Joyce was one of the most influential writers of the twentieth century. This book explores his novels and short stories, and analyses the literary traditions and social factors influencing his distinctive complex style. Interweaving Joyce's life and history with his books, it also shows how Joyce celebrated his own experiences in Dublin.

Horror: A Very Short Introduction

Darryl Jones

9780198755562
Paperback
June 2021

Very Short Introductions

Fear is one of the most primal emotions, and one of the hardest to reason with and dispel. So why do we scare ourselves? Delving into the darkest corners of horror literature, films, and plays, Darryl Jones explores its monsters and its psychological chills, discussing why horror stories disturb us, and how they reflect society's taboos.

Lady Susan, The Watsons, and Sanditon: Unfinished Fictions and Other Writings

Jane Austen, Kathryn Sutherland

9780198835899
Paperback
June 2021

Oxford World's Classics

The unfinished fictions collected here are the novels and other writing that Jane Austen did not publish, including works such as Lady Susan, The Watsons, and Sanditon.

Émile Zola: A Very Short Introduction

Brian Nelson

9780198837565
Paperback
July 2020

Very Short Introductions

Émile Zola occupies a distinctive place in the great tradition of French realist fiction. Brian Nelson introduces this quintessential novelist of modernity, and explores his fascination with change, and the way he opened the novel up to new areas of representation: the realities of working-class life, class relations, and sexuality and the body.

Green Tea: and Other Weird Stories

J. Sheridan Le Fanu, Aaron Worth

9780198835882
Paperback
June 2020

Oxford World's Classics

A landmark edition of Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu's shorter fiction, the form at which he most excelled

Genetics and the Literary Imagination

Clare Hanson

9780198813347
Paperback
May 2020

Oxford Textual Perspectives

Studying works by Doris Lessing, Ian McEwan, A.S. Byatt, Kazuo Ishiguro, and Jackie Kay, this book explores the impact on literature of the gene-centric model of human nature that entered mainstream culture in the wake of the discovery of the structure of DNA.

Algernon Charles Swinburne: Selected Writings

Francis O'Gorman

9780198858775
Paperback
April 2020

21st-Century Oxford Authors

This volume in the 21st-Century Oxford Authors series offers students an authoritative, comprehensive selection of the work of Algernon Charles Swinburne (1837-1909). This edition presents Swinburne's texts in chronological order, and includes an Introduction and full commentary notes.

Samuel Johnson: Selected Writings

David Womersley

9780198859246
Paperback
February 2020

21st-Century Oxford Authors

This volume in the 21st-Century Oxford Authors series offers students an authoritative, comprehensive selection of the work of Samuel Johnson (1709-1784). This edition presents Johnson's texts in chronological order, and includes an Introduction, Chronology, and full commentary notes.

Leo Tolstoy: A Very Short Introduction

Liza Knapp

9780198813934
Paperback
May 2019

Very Short Introductions

Leo Tolstoy is one of the greatest novelists ever to have lived, whose books have stood the test of time to remain widely recognised as literary masterpieces today. This Very Short Introduction explores his celebrated novels and nonfiction writings to reveal the core themes and thought at the heart of Tolstoy's work.

Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Seas

Second Edition

Jules Verne, William Butcher

9780198818649
Paperback
April 2019

Oxford World's Classics

Verne's classic tale of Captain Nemo and the submarine the Nautilus has left a profound mark on the twentieth century. Its themes are universal, its style humorous and grandiose, its construction masterly.

Charles Dickens: A Very Short Introduction

Jenny Hartley

9780198714996
Paperback
February 2019

Very Short Introductions

Jenny Hartley introduces Charles Dickens's life and works, looking at the vitality of his characters and the energy which surges through his writing. Examining the themes running through his books, she considers the institutions which influenced his work (such as the workhouse) and looks at his critique of nineteenth century society.

C. S. Lewis: A Very Short Introduction

James Como

9780198828242
Paperback
January 2019

Very Short Introductions

The writings of C.S. Lewis have a universal appeal. His Chronicles of Narnia are by far the best known, but he was also a prolific literary scholar, essayist, broadcaster, novelist, poet, and Christian apologist. Following the chronology of Lewis's life, James Como draws out the core themes of his writings, showing how his ideas evolved.

Thomas Browne: Selected Writings

Kevin Killeen

9780198797654
Paperback
February 2018

21st-Century Oxford Authors

This volume in the 21st Century Oxford Authors series offers students an authoritative, comprehensive selection of the work of Sir Thomas Browne (1605-1682). The edition introduces students to one of the most brilliant and wide-ranging of writers in Renaissance England and includes an Introduction and full commentary notes.

The Invisible Man: A Grotesque Romance

H. G. Wells, Matthew Beaumont

9780198702672
Paperback
January 2017

Oxford World's Classics

One night in the depths of winter, a bizarre and sinister stranger wrapped in bandages and eccentric clothing arrives in a remote English village. In this pioneering novella, Wells combines comedy, both farcical and satirical, and tragedy - to superbly unsettling effect.

Charles Dickens: An Introduction

Jenny Hartley

9780198788164
Hardback
October 2016

Jenny Hartley introduces Charles Dickens's life and works, looking at the vitality of his characters and the energy which surges through his writing. Examining the themes running through his books, she considers the institutions which influenced his work (such as the workhouse) and looks at his critique of nineteenth century society.

The Oxford Handbook of Thomas Middleton

Gary Taylor, Trish Thomas Henley

9780198703488
Paperback
September 2016

Oxford Handbooks

The 36 new essays in the Handbook discuss Middleton's comedies, tragedies, history plays, masques, pageants, pamphlets, and poetry through a range of critical approaches such as feminism, ecocriticism, and performance studies. Reinterpretations of canonical plays like The Changeling mingle with explorations of recently-identified works.

Once Upon a Time: A Short History of Fairy Tale

Marina Warner

9780198779858
Paperback
July 2016

In ten succinct chapters, Marina Warner guides us through the rich world of fairy tale, from Cinderella and Hansel and Gretel to Snow White and Pan's Labyrinth. Exploring pervasive themes of folklore, myth, the supernatural, imagination, and fantasy, Warner highlights the impact of the genre on human understanding, history, and culture.

The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge

Rainer Maria Rilke, Robert Vilain

9780199646036
Paperback
May 2016

Oxford World's Classics

A landmark in the development of the twentieth-century novel, the Notebooks is the story of a young Danish aristocrat , told in a series of notes that explore Malte's life in Paris, childhood memories and reflections in highly crafted poetic prose. A radical departure from literary realism, it is an archetypal confrontation with the modern.