This book creates a taxonomy for the major bestselling fictional genres: romance (e.g., authors Heyer, Cartland, Woodiwiss and Roberts), religious and inspirational (Corelli and Douglas), mystery and detective (Conan Doyle, Christie and Mankell), and science fiction, horror and fantasy (Wells, Tolkien, Orwell, Niven, King and Rowling). Chapters look at a genre from its roots to its most recent works. The structural patterns in the plot, characters and setting of these genres are then explained. The book also provides a critique of currently popular hyper-formulaic, hack, unliterary writings that have multiplied in recent decades. Special topics such as the publishing oligopoly and the resulting homogeneity among bestselling works and the steady movement from literary to unliterary fiction are also examined.

This Book Presents A Reasonably Comprehensive Account Of The Development Of The Indian English Novel Since Independence. The Novel During The Colonial Period Has A Different Outlook And Was More Concerned With The Problems Of The Indian People Suffering Under The British Yoke. After Independence The Indian Writers Looked At The Indian Scene From The Postcolonial Point Of View. There Were New Hopes, No Doubt, But The Problems Social, Economic, Religious, Political And Familial That Were Submerged In The Flood Of The National Movement Emerged And Drew Attention Of The Creative Writers. The Partition, The Communal Riots After Partition, The Problem Of Casteism, The Subjugation Of Women, The Poverty Of The Illiterate Masses Became The Focal Points. Mulk Raj Anand, Raja Rao, R.K. Narayan, Nayantara Sahgal And Kamala Markandaya In The Beginning Wrote Novels Of Social Realism In The Fifties.But After The Sixties, New Trends Emerged. Writers Like Anita Desai, Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, Bhabani Bhattacharya, G.V. Desani, Chaman Nahal, Manohar Malgonkar And B. Rajan Portrayed The Picture Of The Post-Independence Indian Society. The Stream Of The Early Fifties Now Turned Into A Broad River With New Currents And Cross Currents. The Old Traditional Method Of Novel Writing Gave Way To Modern Techniques.The Indian English Novel Took Further Strides In The Eighties And The Decades That Followed It. Salman Rushdie Can Be Said To Be The Leader Of The New Trend. Shashi Deshpande And Arundhati Roy Followed Suit.This Book Divided Into Six Chapters Surveys And Discusses The Major Trends In The Post- Independence Indian English Novel. The Major Writers Discussed Apart From The Trio, R.K. Narayan, Raja Rao And Mulk Raj Anand Are Bhabani Bhattacharya, Nayantara Sahgal, Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, Anita Desai, Arundhati Roy And Kamala Markandaya.This Book Will Be Of Immense Help To The Students Of Indian English Fiction And The General Reader.

The Routledge Companion to Crime Fiction is a comprehensive introduction to crime fiction and crime fiction scholarship today. Across 45 original chapters, specialists in the field offer innovative approaches to the classics of the genre as well as ground-breaking mappings of emerging themes and trends. The volume is divided into three parts. Part I, Approaches, rearticulates the key theoretical questions posed by the crime genre. Part II, Devices, examines the textual characteristics of crime fiction. Part III, Interfaces investigates the complex ways in which crime fiction engages with the defining issues of its context – from policing and forensic science through war, migration and narcotics to digital media and the environment. Rigorously argued and engagingly written, the volume is indispensable both to students and scholars of crime fiction.

A comprehensive guide that defines the literature and the outlines the best-selling genre of all time: romance fiction. More than 2,000 romances are published annually, making it difficult for fans and the librarians who advise them to keep pace with new titles, emerging authors, and constant evolution of this dynamic genre. Fortunately, romance expert and librarian Kristin Ramsdell provides a definitive guide to this fiction genre that serves as an indispensible resource for those interested in it—including fans searching for reading material—as well as for library staff, scholars, and romance writers themselves. This title updates the last edition of Romance Fiction: A Guide to the Genre, published in 1999.While the emphasis is on newer titles, many of the important older classics are retained, keeping the focus of the book on the entire genre, instead of only those titles published during the last decade. Specific changes include new chapters on linked and continuing romances, a new section on "Chick Lit" in the Contemporary Romance chapter, an expansion of coverage on the alternative reality subset. This is THE romance genre guide to have.