From a Modernist/Postmodernist perspective, this title addresses questions of literary and cultural nationalism. The authors reveal that since the seventeenth century, American writing has reflected the political and historical climate of its time and helped define America's cultural and social parameters. Above all, they argue that American literature has always been essentially 'modern', illustrating this with a broad range of texts: from Poe and Melville to Fitzgerald and Proud, to Wallace and Stevens, Gwendolyn Brooks, and Thomas Pynchon.

Romance is a varied and fluid literary genre, notoriously difficult to define. This groundbreaking Companion surveys the many permutations of romance throughout the ages.

• Considers the literary and historical development of the romance genre from its classical origins to the present day
• Incorporates discussion of the changing readership of romance and of romance’s special relation to women readers
• Comprises 30 essays written by leading authorities on different periods and sub-genres
• Challenges the idea that the appeal of romance is exclusively escapist
• Draws on a wide range of specific and influential literary examples

This introduction to American literature and culture from 1900 to 1960 is organized around four major ideas about America: that is it “big”, “new”, “rich”, and “free”.

This is a comprehensive collection of original essays that explore the aesthetics, economics, and mechanics of movie adaptation, from the days of silent cinema to contemporary franchise phenomena. Featuring a range of theoretical approaches, and chapters on the historical, ideological and economic aspects of adaptation, the volume reflects today’s acceptance of intertextuality as a vital and progressive cultural force.

Through a series of 34 essays by leading and emerging scholars, A Companion to Romantic Poetry reveals the rich diversity of Romantic poetry and shows why it continues to hold such a vital and indispensable place in the history of English literature.