"Marxist Literary Theory: A Reader" is designed to give both students and lecturers a sense of the historical formation of a Marxist literary tradition. A unique compilation of principal texts in that tradition, it offers the reader new ways of reading Marxism, literature, theory, and the social possibilities of writing.
The collection is introduced by both editors: Terry Eagleton, writing at the point of what he describes as "the most grievous crisis in Marxism's fraught career," surveys the evolution of Marxist criticism, and addresses the profoundly problematic question of Marxism's future, especially as seen in the controversial light of postmodern theory. Drew Milne contributes a key essay on "Reading Marxist Literary Theory," exploring in the process the complex relations between Marx's writings and Marxism.