The astonishing success of J.K. Rowling and other contemporary children's authors has demonstrated how passionately children can commit to the books they love. But this kind of devotion is not new. This timely volume takes up the challenge of assessing the complex interplay of forces that have created the popularity of children's books both today and in the past. The essays collected here ask about the meanings and values that have been ascribed to the term 'popular'. They consider whether...

'Woolf's pivotal novel ... the writer feels her way into becoming the giantess she would be' Paris ReviewVirginia Woolf's delicate second novel is both a love story and a social comedy, yet it also subtly undermines these traditions, questioning a woman's role and the very nature of experience. Its protagonist, Katharine Hilbery, is beautiful and privileged but uncertain of her future. She must choose between becoming engaged to the oddly prosaic poet William, and her dang...

'Language is his power. His characters are precisely the words they speak' A. S. ByattA young man is condemned to death for breaking a law forbidding sex outside marriage. When his sister pleads with the Lord Angelo to save him, he offers her a bargain - her brother's life in exchange for her virginity. One of Shakespeare's most enigmatic plays, Measure for Measure is a morally complex drama of intricate moves and countermoves that explores falsehood, justice and humanity'...

'Here is a wonderful and wittily written introduction to science as the art of asking open questions and not jumping to conclusions. It's also an amusing excursion through evolution and anthropology which packs in a lot of learning with the lightest of touches. A much-needed antidote to the bludgeoning crudity of so much writing in both science and religion.' Rev Dr Malcolm Guite, poet, singer-songwriter, priest, and academicJoin Harriet, Darwin's pet tortoise, and...

Join Harriet, Darwin's pet tortoise, and Milton, Schrodinger's indecisive cat on a time-travelling quest of discovery, unravelling scientific exploration and religious beliefs and how they fit together.Throughout the centuries humans have been looking for answers to BIG questions - how did the universe start? Is there a God behind it? Has science explained away the need for a God, or can faith enhance scientific discovery?On this adventure, Harriet and Milt...

Here is a wonderful and wittily written introduction to science as the art of asking open questions and not jumping to conclusions. It's also an amusing excursion through evolution and anthropology which packs in a lot of learning with the lightest of touches.' REVEREND DOCTOR MALCOLM GUITE Poet, singer-songwriter, priest, and academic Chaplain at Girton College CambridgeJoin Harriet, Darwin's pet tortoise, and Milton, Schrodinger's indecisive cat on a time-travell...

'Too often science and faith are pitted against each other. This book breaks down that split in a creative and engaging way. It shows the scope of science in our lives and how the study of science and the study of God feed and magnify each other.' Justin Welby, Archbishop of CanterburyJoin Harriet, Darwin's pet tortoise, and Milton, Schrodinger's indecisive cat on a time-travelling quest of discovery, unravelling scientific exploration and religious beliefs and how...

'The brilliant and entertaining illustrations in this series enliven a clear and enjoyable text that should stimulate serious thought about the world and our place in it.' Lord Rees, Astronomer Royal, President of the Royal Society 2005-2010Join Harriet, Darwin's pet tortoise, and Milton, Schrodinger's indecisive cat on a time-travelling quest of discovery, unravelling scientific exploration and religious beliefs and how they fit together.Throughout the cen...

'The brilliant and entertaining illustrations in this series enliven a clear and enjoyable text that should stimulate serious thought about the world and our place in it.' - Lord Rees, Astronomer RoyalJoin Harriet, Darwin's pet tortoise, and Milton, Schrodinger's indecisive cat on a time-travelling quest of discovery, unravelling scientific exploration and religious beliefs and how they fit together.Throughout the centuries humans have been looking for answ...

By refusing to directly depict its protagonist, this novel revolutionized the art of characterization in the 20th century. The narrative follows the life of Jacob Flanders through the eyes of the women who love him and the letters he leaves behind, creating a silhouette rather than a portrait. Woolf explores the disconnect between how we see ourselves and how we exist in the minds of others, set against the backdrop of a pre-war world hurtling toward destruction. It is an elegiac experimen...

"An analytical study of sexual depravity" and "an epic of vice" were two of the critical expressions which greeted the publication of "Women in Love". Yet Lawrence regarded this novel as his best book and F. R. Leavis considered it Lawrence's supreme masterpiece. The novel tells of the relationships of two sisters, Ursula and Gudrun, who live in a Midland colliery town in the years before the First World War. Ursula falls in love with Birkin (a thinly disguised portrait of Lawrence himself...