Readers of Victorian fiction must often have tripped up on seeming anomalies, enigmas, and mysteries in their favourite novels. Does Becky kill Jos at the end of Vanity Fair? Why does no one notice that Hetty is pregnant in Adam Bede? How, exactly, does Victor Frankenstein make his monster? Why does Dracula come to England rather than himself an invisible suit? Why does Sherlock Holmes, of all people, get the name of his client wrong? In Is Heathcliff a Murderer? (well, is he?) JohnSutherland investigates 34 conundrums of nineteenth-century fiction. Applying these `real world' questions to fiction is not in any sense intended to catch out the novelists who are invariably cleverer than their most detectively-inclined readers. Typically, one finds a reason for the seeming anomaly. Not blunders, that is, but unexpected felicities and ingenious justifications. In Is Heathcliff a Murderer? John Sutherland, recently described by Tony Tanner as `a sort of Sherlock Holmes ofliterature', pays homage to the most rewarding of critical activities, close reading and the pleasures of good-natured pedantry.

Readers of Victorian fiction must often have tripped up on seeming anomalies, enigmas, and mysteries in their favourite novels. Does Becky kill Jos at the end of Vanity Fair? Why does no one notice that Hatty is pregnant in Adam Bede? How, exactly, does Victor Frankenstein make his monster? Why does Dracula come to England rather than neighbouring Germany? Why doesn't the invisible man make himself an invisible suit? Why does Sherlock Holmes, of all people, get the name of his client wrong? In Is Heathcliffe a Murderer (well, is he?) John Sutherland investigates 34 conundrums of nineteenth-century fiction. Applying these `real world' questions to fiction is not in any sense intended to catch out the novelists who are invariably cleverer than their most detectively-inclined readers. Typically, one finds a reason for the seeming anomaly. Not blunders, that is, but unexpected felicities and ingenious justifications.

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER IN A BRAND NEW EDITION 'Enchanting...the most engagingly boffiny book imaginable.' Spectator Does Becky kill Jos at the end of Vanity Fair? Why does no one notice that Hetty is pregnant in Adam Bede? How, exactly, does Victor Frankenstein make his monster? Readers of Victorian fiction often find themselves tripping up on seeming anomalies, enigmas and mysteries in their favourite novels. In Is Heathcliff a Murderer? John Sutherland investigates 34 conundrums of nineteenth-century fiction, paying homage to the most rewarding of critical activities: close reading and the pleasures of good-natured pedantry

In Who Betrays Elizabeth Bennet? John Sutherland unravels 34 literary puzzles in a sequel to his bestselling works Is Heathcliff a Murderer? and Can Jane Eyre Be Happy?. As well as exploring new conundrums Professor Sutherland revisits some previous puzzles with the help of readers who offertheir own ingenious solutions, and set fresh posers for investigation. Victorian drug habits, railway systems, sanitation and dentistry are only a few of the areas that shed light on the motives and circumstances of some of literature's most famous characters: Elizabeth Bennet, Betsey Trotwood, Count Dracula, Anna Karenina, Alice and many more come under the spotlightin John Sutherland's highly entertaining collection. 'Sutherland puts humanity and the human, logic and curiosity, back into criticism . . . His respect for the realism of texts inspires, inspirits and delights.' Valentine Cunningham

'Wonderful...concise, witty, effortlessly learned.' Sunday Times How does Magwitch swim to shore with a great iron on his leg? Where does Fanny Hill keep her contraceptives? Whose side is Hawkeye on? And how does Clarissa Dalloway get home so quickly? In this new edition sequel to the enormously successful Is Heathcliff a Murderer?, John Sutherland plays literary detective and investigates 32 literary conundrums, ranging from Daniel Defoe to Virginia Woolf. As in its universally loved predecessor, the questions and answers are ingenious and convincing, and return the reader with new respect to the great novels that inspire them.

Downton Abbey meets Agatha Christie with a touch of Wodehouse and a dog of distinction. Who killed Sir Crispin Gibbons? A wedding invitation and news of mischief that could be murder, takes Lennox to The Earl of Bloxford's country pile. He soon finds himself in a world of purloined artworks, forgeries and a priceless Bloxford Beauty. But who are the Bloxford Beauties? And why are they the focal point around which swirls death?Lennox must confront life-long friends, unscrupulous artists and dealers to finally unravel a plot so complex that even his Scotland yard friend Jonathan Swift, is befuddled.