Alastair Fowler presents a fascinating study of title-pages printed in England from the early modern period to the nineteenth century. He examines pictorial title-pages in the context of the History of the Book for the first time. The first part of The Mind of the Book explores the forerunner of the frontispiece in late antiquity; the use of frames and borders in title-pages; portraits; printers' devices; emblematic title-pages of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, especially attending to explanatory verses and arcane features such as chronograms; title-pages as 'memory prompts'; and eighteenth and nineteenth-century title-pages, tracing 'the rejection of emblematic and symbolic features and the introduction of unadorned, unpictorial, title-pages'. The second part of the book presents illustrations of sixteen significant title-pages with commentaries, ranging from Chaucer's Works in 1532 through Bacon's Instauratio Magna in 1620, Dicken's The Mystery of Edwin Drood in 1870, and arriving back at Chaucer with Edward Burnes-Jones's illustrated title-page for the Works of 1896.

With a revised Introduction and with all chapters revised to bring them completely up-to date, this new edition remains the leading guide to research methods for final-year undergraduates, postgraduates taking Masters degrees and PhDs students of 19th- an

This volume of essays reconfigures the reception history of Milton and his works by bringing to the fore women reading, writing, and rewriting Milton, bringing together in conversation a range of voices from diverse historical, cultural, religious, and social contexts across the globe and through the centuries. The book encompasses a rich range of different literary genres, artistic media, and academic disciplines and draws on the research of established Milton scholars and new Miltonists. Like the female authors and artists whom they explore, the contributors take up a variety of standpoints. As well as revisiting the work of established figures, the volume brings new female creative artists, new subjects, and new approaches to the study of Milton.

This book addresses the shape of English studies beyond the ‘center’ by analyzing how the discipline has developed, and by considering how lessons from this analysis relate to the discipline as a whole. The book aims to open a cross-disciplinary conversation about the nature of the English major in both non-Anglophone and Anglophone countries by addressing the tensions between language and literature pedagogy, the relevance of a focus on hyper-canonical Anglophone literature in a world of global Englishes, world literature, and multilingual students, and by reflecting on the necessary contingency and cross-purposes of blended literature and language classrooms. Many of the book’s points of discussion arise from the author’s experience as an English professor in Japan, where the particularities of English language and literature pedagogy raise significant challenges to Anglo-centric critical and pedagogical assumptions. English Studies Beyond the ‘Center’: Teaching Literature and the Future of Global English therefore argues that English literature must make a case for itself by understanding its place in a newly configured discipline. Issues discussed in the book include: English language and literature pedagogy in Japan The modes through which EFL and English literary studies converge and diverge Globalized English beyond the Anglo-American perspective English classroom practices, particularly in Japan

The "breathtakingly brilliant" novel by the author of Infinite Jest (New York Times) is a deeply compelling and satisfying story, as hilarious and fearless and original as anything Wallace ever wrote. The agents at the IRS Regional Examination Center in Peoria, Illinois, appear ordinary enough to newly arrived trainee David Foster Wallace. But as he immerses himself in a routine so tedious and repetitive that new employees receive boredom-survival training, he learns of the extraordinary variety of personalities drawn to this strange calling. And he has arrived at a moment when forces within the IRS are plotting to eliminate even what little humanity and dignity the work still has. The Pale King remained unfinished at the time of David Foster Wallace's death, but it is a deeply compelling and satisfying novel, hilarious and fearless and as original as anything Wallace ever undertook. It grapples directly with ultimate questions -- questions of life's meaning and of the value of work and society -- through characters imagined with the interior force and generosity that were Wallace's unique gifts. Along the way it suggests a new idea of heroism and commands infinite respect for one of the most daring writers of our time. "The Pale King is by turns funny, shrewd, suspenseful, piercing, smart, terrifying, and rousing." --Laura Miller, Salon

One may wonder that new ways of reading James Joyce continue to emerge, but as Jonathan Goldman and his fourteen contributors demonstrate, Joyce's key writings beg to be analyzed alongside Irish law and legal history. Together, these essays demonstrate how legal research elucidates the movements and motivations of Joyce's characters and the language and shape of his narratives.

This book explores the words, forms, and styles Shakespeare used to interact with the verbal marketplace of early modern England.