Novels for Students

by Thomason, Elizabeth

• ISBN13: 9780787648961
• ISBN10: 0787648965
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2001-12-01
• Publisher: Gale / Cengage Learning

Summary

Each volume in the Novels for Students Series contains easily accessible and context-rich discussions of the literary and historical significance of 14 to 15 major works from various cultures and time periods, including concise synopses of plot, characters and themes; a brief author biography; a discussion of the story's cultural and historical significance; and excerpted criticism.

Table of Contents

Guest Foreword ``The Informed Dialogue: Interacting with Literature''	ix
Anne Deveraux Jordan
Introduction	xi
Literary Chronology	xv
Acknowledgments	xvii
Contributors	xix
Absalom, Absalom	1	(26)
William Faulkner
Author Biography	2	(1)
Plot Summary	3	(1)
Characters	4	(2)
Themes	6	(2)
Style	8	(1)
Historical Context	9	(2)
Critical Overview	11	(2)
Criticism	13	(14)
All the King's Men	27	(27)
Robert Penn Warren
Author Biography	28	(1)
Plot Summary	28	(3)
Characters	31	(4)
Themes	35	(1)
Style	36	(1)
Historical Context	37	(3)
Critical Overview	40	(1)
Criticism	41	(13)
Brideshead Revisited	54	(26)
Evelyn Waugh
Author Biography	55	(1)
Plot Summary	56	(2)
Characters	58	(4)
Themes	62	(2)
Style	64	(2)
Historical Context	66	(1)
Critical Overview	67	(2)
Criticism	69	(11)
The Death of the Heart	80	(19)
Elizabeth Bowen
Author Biography	81	(1)
Plot Summary	81	(2)
Characters	83	(3)
Themes	86	(2)
Style	88	(1)
Historical Context	89	(2)
Critical Overview	91	(1)
Criticism	92	(7)
The Kitchen God's Wife	99	(23)
Amy Tan
Author Biography	100	(1)
Plot Summary	100	(2)
Characters	102	(2)
Themes	104	(2)
Style	106	(1)
Historical Context	107	(2)
Critical Overview	109	(2)
Criticism	111	(11)
The Member of the Wedding	122	(23)
Carson McCullers
Author Biography	123	(1)
Plot Summary	123	(1)
Characters	124	(2)
Themes	126	(1)
Style	127	(1)
Historical Context	128	(2)
Critical Overview	130	(1)
Criticism	131	(14)
Moll Flanders	145	(25)
Daniel Defoe
Author Biography	145	(1)
Plot Summary	146	(2)
Characters	148	(3)
Themes	151	(2)
Style	153	(1)
Historical Context	154	(1)
Critical Overview	155	(2)
Criticism	157	(13)
Nectar in a Sieve	170	(22)
Kamala Markandaya
Author Biography	170	(1)
Plot Summary	171	(1)
Characters	172	(2)
Themes	174	(1)
Style	175	(1)
Historical Context	176	(1)
Critical Overview	177	(1)
Criticism	178	(14)
The Optimist's Daughter	192	(20)
Eudora Welty
Author Biography	193	(1)
Plot Summary	193	(1)
Characters	194	(3)
Themes	197	(1)
Style	198	(1)
Historical Context	199	(1)
Critical Overview	200	(1)
Criticism	201	(11)
The Remains of the Day	212	(25)
Kazuo Ishiguro
Author Biography	212	(1)
Plot Summary	213	(1)
Chracters	214	(2)
Themes	216	(1)
Style	217	(1)
Historical Context	218	(2)
Critical Overview	220	(1)
Criticism	221	(16)
Snow Falling on Cedars	237	(17)
David Guterson
Author Biography	238	(1)
Plot Summary	238	(1)
Characters	239	(3)
Themes	242	(2)
Style	244	(1)
Historical Context	245	(1)
Critical Overview	246	(1)
Criticism	247	(7)
Surfacing	254	(13)
Margaret Atwood
Author Biography	254	(1)
Plot Summary	255	(2)
Characters	257	(2)
Themes	259	(1)
Style	260	(1)
Historical Context	261	(1)
Critical Overview	262	(2)
Criticism	264	(3)
The Sweet Hereafter	267	(17)
Russell Banks
Author Biography	267	(1)
Plot Summary	268	(2)
Characters	270	(3)
Themes	273	(1)
Style	274	(1)
Historical Context	275	(1)
Critical Overview	276	(1)
Criticism	277	(7)
Vanity Fair	284	(25)
William Thackeray
Author Biography	285	(1)
Plot Summary	285	(3)
Characters	288	(4)
Themes	292	(1)
Style	293	(2)
Historical Context	295	(1)
Critical Overview	296	(1)
Criticism	297	(12)
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz	309	(24)
L. Frank Baum
Author Biography	310	(1)
Plot Summary	310	(1)
Characters	311	(3)
Themes	314	(2)
Style	316	(1)
Historical Context	316	(2)
Critical Overview	318	(1)
Criticism	319	(14)
Glossary of Literary Terms	333	(12)
Cumulative Author/Title Index	345	(6)
Cumulative Nationality/Ethnicity Index	351	(4)
Subject/Theme Index	355