How to be Well Read: A guide to 500 great novels and a handful of literary curiosities

Author:   John Sutherland
Publisher:   Cornerstone
ISBN:  

9781529157291


Pages:   560
Publication Date:   14 July 2022
Format:   Paperback
Availability:   In stock   Availability explained
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How to be Well Read: A guide to 500 great novels and a handful of literary curiosities


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Overview

A guide to the best novels ever written, and why they matter. Ranging all the way from Aaron's Rod to Zuleika Dobson, via The Devil Rides Out and Middlemarch, literary connoisseur and sleuth John Sutherland offers his very personal guide to the most rewarding, most remarkable and, on occasion, most shamelessly enjoyable works of fiction ever written. He brilliantly captures the flavour of each work and assesses its relative merits and demerits. He shows how it fits into a broader context and he offers endless snippets of intriguing information- did you know, for example, that the Nazis banned Bambi or that William Faulkner wrote As I Lay Dying on an upturned wheelbarrow; that Voltaire completed Candide in three days, or that Anna Sewell was paid e20 for Black Beauty? It is also effectively a history of the novel in 500 or so wittily informative, bite-sized pieces. Encyclopaedic and entertaining by turns, this is a wonderful dip-in book, whose opinions will inform and on occasion, no doubt, infuriate. __________________________________________________ 'Generous, enjoyable and well informed.' Observer 'Anyone hooked on fiction should be warned- this book will feed your addiction.' Mail on Sunday '500 expertly potted plots and personal comments on a wide range of pop and proper prose fiction.' The Times

Full Product Details

Author:   John Sutherland
Publisher:   Cornerstone
Imprint:   Penguin (Cornerstone)
Dimensions:   Width: 12.90cm , Height: 3.30cm , Length: 19.80cm
Weight:   0.383kg
ISBN:  

9781529157291


ISBN 10:   1529157293
Pages:   560
Publication Date:   14 July 2022
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  General/trade ,  Tertiary & Higher Education ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In stock   Availability explained
We have confirmation that this item is in stock with the supplier. It will be ordered in for you and dispatched immediately.

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Reviews

Generous, enjoyable and well informed. * Observer * A dazzling array of genres, periods, styles and tastes . . . chatty, insightful, unprejudiced (but not uncritical) and wise. * Times Literary Supplement * 500 expertly potted plots and personal comments on a wide range of pop and proper prose fiction. * The Times * John Sutherland has been teaching English literature to university students for half a century. Now he's put the 'common reader' in the classroom in this capacious, witty guide to all the books you should read to claim the epithet 'well-read'. . . Each book gets a potted plot summary and a lively squirt of literary analysis, plus intriguing nuggets about the way reading tastes have changed through time, all told in Sutherland's breezy, intelligent voice. * The Times * Anyone hooked on fiction should be warned: this book will feed your addiction. * Mail on Sunday * A glorious selection of books to tempt you - all considered in witty and elegant prose. Highly recommended. * The Bookbag *


A dazzling array of genres, periods, styles and tastes... chatty, insightful, unprejudiced (but not uncritical) and wise.' --Times Literary Supplement Generous, enjoyable and well informed.'Observer 'Anyone hooked on fiction should be warned: this book will feed your addiction.'Mail on Sunday '500 expertly potted plots and personal comments on a wide range of pop and proper prose fiction.'The Times Part of the attraction of most classic novels is their strong sense of place... [Literary Landscapes] delves into the geography, location, and terrain of 50 beloved books - from Joyce's Dublin to Harper Lee's Monroeville, Ala. New York Times Book Review, 'New & Noteworthy' on Literary Landscapes This fascinating (and beautifully designed) book looks at how novels' settings impact their plot, character, and tone. Refinery29 on Literary Landscapes The loving treatment by an expert . . . will please both novices and established readers looking to dip back into well-loved works. --Shelf Awarenesson A Little History of Literature A genial, enthusiastic guide leads a jaunt through literary history. . . . [Sutherland's] aim is not to draw a line between high art and low, but to share his prodigious joy of reading. --Kirkus Reviews on A Little History of Literature


Author Information

John Sutherland is Lord Northcliffe Professor Emeritus of Modern English Literature at University College London and previously taught at the California Institute of Technology. He writes regularly for the Guardian, The Times and the New York Times, and is the author of many books including Curiosities of Literature, Is Henry V a War Criminal? (with Cedric Watts), biographies of Walter Scott, Stephen Spender and the Victorian elephant Jumbo, and The Boy Who Loved Books, a memoir.

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