The Essential Guide

Jeanette Winterson

Includes an exclusive author interviewFocusing on:ORANGES ARE NOT THE ONLY FRUITTHE PASSIONSEXING THE CHERRYTHE POWERBOOK

In Vintage Living Texts, teachers and students will find the essential guide to the works of Jeanette Winterson. Vintage Living Texts is unique in that it offers an in-depth interview with Jeanette Winterson, relating specifically to the texts under discussion. This guide deals with Winterson's themes, genre and narrative technique, and a close reading of the texts will provide a rich source of ideas for intelligent and inventive ways of approaching the novels.

Martin Amis

Includes an exclusive author interviewFocusing on:LONDON FIELDSTIME'S ARROWEXPERIENCE

In Vintage Living Texts, teachers and students will find the essential guide to the works of Martin Amis. Vintage Living Texts is unique in that it offers an in-depth interview with Martin Amis, relating specifically to the texts under discussion. This guide deals with Amis's themes, genre and narrative technique, and a close reading of the texts will provide a rich source of ideas for intelligent and inventive ways of approaching the novels.

The Essential Guide To

American Fiction

In Vintage Living Texts, teachers and students will find the essential guide to the works of Joseph Heller, J. D. Salinger, Harper Lee and Richard Wright.

This makes me want to read my own books all over again

I didn't realise how good the series was until I started working closely with it. The questions are so thoughtful and probing... the texts really do occupy their own niche between guides purely for teachers and the ubiquitous student crib, and are much better than either

Catch 22, Cather in the Rye, To Kill a Mocking Bird and Native Son- this guide deals with the themes, genre and narrative techniques of these four classic American novels, with an emphasis on providing a rich source of ideas for intelligent and inventive ways of approaching the novels. Amongst many other features you'll find inpsirational reading plans and contextual material, suggested complementary and comparative reading and an indispensable glossary.

Sebastian Faulks

This series provides readers of all kinds with an introduction to some of the most exciting works in contemporary literature. BirdsongCharlotte GrayOn Green Dolphin Street

In Vintage Living Texts teachers and students will find the essential guide to the works of Sebastian Faulks. This guide will deal with his themes, genre and narrative technique, and a close reading of the texts will be accompanied with likely exam questions, and contexts and comparisons - as well as providing a rich source of ideas for intelligent and inventive ways of approaching the novels.

Iris Murdoch

'This makes me want to read my own books all over again' Louis de Bernieres on Louis de Bernieres: the Essential Guide

In Vintage Living Texts, teachers, students and any lover of literature will find the essential guide to the major works of Iris Murdoch. Iris Murdoch's themes, genre and narrative techniques are put under scrutiny and the emphasis is on providing a rich source of ideas for intelligent and inventive ways of approaching the novels. Amongst many other features you'll find inspirational reading plans and contextual material, suggested complementary and comparative reading and an indispensable glossary. Featured texts: The Black Prince, The Sea, The Sea, The Bell'I didn't realise just how good the series was until I started working closely with it.  The questions are so thoughtful and probing-the texts really do occupy their own niche between guides purely for teachers and the ubiquitous student crib, and are much better than either' Head of English, Newington College, Australia

Ian McEwan

This series provides readers of all kinds with an introduction to some of the most exciting works in contemporary literature. The Child in TimeEnduring LoveAtonement

In Vintage Living Texts teachers and students will find the essential guide to the works of Ian McEwan. This guide will deal with his themes, genre and narrative technique, and a close reading of the texts will be accompanied with likely exam questions, and contexts and comparisons - as well as providing a rich source of ideas for intelligent and inventive ways of approaching the novels.

Susan Hill

The Woman in Black, Strange Meeting, I'm the King of the Castle, A Little Bit of Singing and DancingIn Vintage Living Texts, teachers and students will find the essential guide to the works of Susan Hill. Vintage Living Texts is unique in that it offers an in-depth interview with Susan Hill, relating specifically to the texts under discussion. This guide deals with Hill's themes, genre and narrative technique, and a close reading of the texts will provide a rich source of ideas for intelligent and inventive ways of approaching the novels. Also included in this guide are detailed reading plans for all three novels, questions for essays and discussion, contextual material, suggested texts for complementary and comparative reading, extracts from reviews, a critical overview, a biography, bibliography and a glossary of literary terms.

Roddy Doyle

An intelligent and helpful guide to the major works of Roddy Doyle, ideal for students and lovers of literature alike.

Louis de Bernieres on Louis de Bernieres: The Essential Guide

In Vintage Living Texts, teachers, students and any lover of literature will find the essential guide to the major works of Roddy Doyle. Also included is an exclusive in-depth interview with Roddy Doyle relating specifically to the novels under discussion. 
 
Roddy Doyle's themes, genre and narrative techniques are put under scrutiny and the emphasis is on providing a rich source of ideas for intelligent and inventive ways of approaching the novels. Amongst many other features you'll find inspirational reading plans and contextual material, suggested complementary and comparative reading and an indispensable glossary. 
 
Featuring the texts: Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha, The Van and A Star Called Henry.

A. S. Byatt

An accessible yet intellectually thorough guide to the work of A. S. Byatt, offering helpful insights into her major novels and stories and including an exclusive author interview.

I didn't realise just how good the series was until I started working closely with it. The questions are so thoughtful and probing...the texts really do occupy their own niche between guides purely for teachers and the ubiquitous student crib, and are much better than either

In Vintage Living Texts teachers, students and any lover of literature will find the essential guide to the major works of A. S. Byatt. Also included is an exclusive in-depth interview with A. S. Byatt relating specifically to the novels under discussion. 
 
A. S. Byatt's themes, genre and narrative techniques are put under scrutiny and the emphasis is on providing a rich source of ideas for intelligent and inventive ways of approaching the novels. Amongst many other features you'll find inspirational reading plans and contextual material, suggested complementary and comparative reading and an indispensable glossary. 
 
Featured texts: Possession, Angels &amp; Insects, and A Whistling Woman.

John Fowles

The French Lieutenant's Woman, The Magus, A MaggotIn Vintage Living Texts, teachers and students will find the essential guide to the works of John Fowles. Vintage Living Texts is unique in that it offers an in-depth interview with John Fowles, relating specifically to the texts under discussion. This guide deals with Fowles's themes, genre and narrative technique, and a close reading of the texts will provide a rich source of ideas for intelligent and inventive ways of approaching the novels. Also included in this guide are detailed reading plans for all three novels, questions for essays and discussion, contextual material, suggested texts for complementary and comparative reading, extracts from reviews, a critical overview, a biography, bibliography and a glossary of literary terms.

Toni Morrison

Focusing on Morrison's celebrated novels Beloved, Jazz and Paradise, this indispensible guide includes an exclusive author interview.

In Vintage Living Texts, teachers and students will find the essential guide to the works of Toni Morrison. Vintage Living Texts is unique in that it offers an in-depth interview with Toni Morrison, relating specifically to the texts under discussion. This guide deals with Morrison's themes, genre and narrative technique, and a close reading of the texts will provide a rich source of ideas for intelligent and inventive ways of approaching the novels. 
 
Also included in this guide are detailed reading plans for the novels, questions for essays and discussion, contextual material, suggested texts for complementary and comparative reading, extracts from reviews, a biography, bibliography and a glossary of literary terms. 
 
Whether a teacher, student or general reader, Vintage Living Texts gives you the chance to explore new resources and enjoy new pleasures.

Salman Rushdie

An accessible yet intellectually thorough guide to the work of Salman Rushdie, offering helpful insights into his major novels and including an exclusive author interview.

In Vintage Living Texts, teachers and students will find the essential guide to the works of Salman Rushdie. Vintage Living Texts is unique in that it offers an in-depth interview with Salman Rushdie, relating specifically to the texts under discussion. This guide deals with Rushdie's themes, genre and narrative technique,and a close reading of the texts will provide a rich source of ideas for intelligent and inventive ways of approaching the novels. 
 
Also included in this guide are detailed reading plans for all three novels, questions for essay and discussion, contextual material, suggested texts for complementary and comparative reading, extracts from reviews, a biography, a bibliography and a glossary of literary terms. 
 
Texts covered: Midnight's Children, Shame and The Satanic Verses. 
 
Whether a teacher, student or general reader, the Vintage Living Texts series gives you the chance to explore new resources and enjoy new pleasures.

the essential guide

Margaret Atwood

This series provides readers of all kinds with an introduction to some of the most exciting works in contemporary literature. The Handmaid's TaleThe Blind AssassinBluebeard's Egg and Other Stories

In Vintage Living Texts teachers and students will find the essential guide to the works of Margaret Atwood. This guide will deal with her themes, genre and narrative technique, and a close reading of the texts will be accompanied with likely exam questions, and contexts and comparisons - as well as providing a rich source of ideas for intelligent and inventive ways of approaching the novels.

Louis de Bernières

This series provides readers of all kinds with an introduction to Louis de Bernières and some of the most exciting works in contemporary literature, including Captain Corelli's Mandolin, The Troublesome Offspring of Cardinal Guzman, Señor Vivo and the Coca Lord and The War of Don Emmanuel's Nether Parts.

In Vintage Living Texts teachers and students will find the essential guide to the works of Louis de Bernières. Vintage Living Texts is unique in that it offers an in-depth interview with Louis de Bernières, relating specifically to the texts under discussion. 
 
This guide will deal with de Bernières' themes, genre and narrative technique, and a close reading of the texts will be accompanied with likely exam questions, and contexts and comparisons - as well as providing a rich source of ideas for intelligent and inventive ways of approaching the novels. 
 
Also included in this guide are detailed reading plans for all four novels, questions for essays and discussion, contextual material, suggested texts for complimentary and comparative reading, extracts from reviews, a biography, a bibliography and a glossary of literary terms.

The Sappho Companion

For two and a half thousand years, poets and readers have been inspired by the writing of Sappho, and the myths that surround her

Born around 630BC on the Greek island of Lesbos, Sappho is now regarded as the greatest lyrical poet of ancient Greece, ironic and passionate, capturing the troubled depths of love. Her work survives only in fragments, yet her influence extends throughout Western literature, fuelled by the speculations and romances which have gathered around her name, her story and her sexuality.This remarkable anthology brilliantly displays the way different periods have taken up Sappho's haunting story bringing together many different kinds of work. We see her image change, re-created in Ovid's poetry and Boccaccio's tales, in translations by Pope, Rossetti and Swinburne, Baudelaire, in the modern versions of Eavan Boland, Ruth Padel and Jeanette Winterson.

Margaret Reynolds

Exquisite. Beautifully written, The Wild Track is a deeply insightful memoir which charts displacement and our fundamental longings for place and identity and ultimately our yearnings for love.

This memoir is a triumph; an extraordinarily wise and rich analysis of what it means to belong, to a place and to beloved others. Deeply moving, richly allusive, surprising and thought-provoking, The Wild Track deserves to be one of the great successes of 2021.

A remarkable book. Wise and arresting in its candour.

Enlightening...The Wild Track is a passionate, heartfelt exploration of a woman who wants to be a mother. I found it utterly compelling.

Extremely moving...an unusually thoughtful take on becoming a mother, enabled by removing babyhood and biology. A testament to the joy of finding home and belonging...the precariousness of the care system is painfully felt and it's this that makes Reynolds's book such a necessary contribution to the literature on motherhood.

A beautiful memoir, The Wild Track tells an adoption story less traditional than some.

A personal, immersive read...Part memoir, part exploration of what drives a woman to become a mother, it tracks Margaret's journey through the adoption process in her mid-forties in a compelling, honest account.

A meditative and searching literary memoir.

adopting, mothering, belonging

'A remarkable book...wise and arresting' Sarah Winman 
 
'Exquisite... a deeply insightful memoir which charts our fundamental longings for place and identity, and ultimately our yearnings for love.' Helena Kennedy 
 
Single, in her mid-forties and having experienced a sudden early menopause, a realisation comes to Peggy quietly, and clearly: she decides to adopt a child. But the preparation is arduous and the scrutiny intense. There are questions about past lives, about capability and expectations. 
 
Asking big questions about identity and belonging, as well as about what makes a mother - and a home - this is a beautiful meditation on how the legacies of childhood might be overcome by a mother's determination to love. 
 
'Extremely moving...an unusually thoughtful take on becoming a mother, enabled by removing babyhood and biology.' Guardian

Margaret Reynolds

Praise for The Wild Track

Exquisite. Beautifully written, The Wild Track is a deeply insightful memoir which charts displacement and our fundamental longings for place and identity and ultimately our yearnings for love.

This memoir is a triumph; an extraordinarily wise and rich analysis of what it means to belong, to a place and to beloved others. Deeply moving, richly allusive, surprising and thought-provoking, The Wild Track

A remarkable book. Wise and arresting in its candour.

Exquisite. Beautifully written, The Wild Track is a deeply insightful memoir which charts displacement and our fundamental longings for place and identity and ultimately our yearnings for love.

This memoir is a triumph; an extraordinarily wise and rich analysis of what it means to belong, to a place and to beloved others. Deeply moving, richly allusive, surprising and thought-provoking, The Wild Track

A remarkable book. Wise and arresting in its candour.

Exquisite. Beautifully written, The Wild Track is a deeply insightful memoir which charts displacement and our fundamental longings for place and identity and ultimately our yearnings for love.

This memoir is a triumph; an extraordinarily wise and rich analysis of what it means to belong, to a place and to beloved others. Deeply moving, richly allusive, surprising and thought-provoking, The Wild Track

A remarkable book. Wise and arresting in its candour.

Books by Margaret Reynolds

Series by Margaret Reynolds

Vintage Living Texts

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