Back in the 1700s, the first performance of an actor in the patent theatres would often be under some anonymous title like ‘A Gentleman (who never appear’d on any stage)’. Sometimes, actors even pushed this a bit further, and maintained a kind of pseudo-anonymity in later performances, using titles like ‘the Gentleman who perform’d King […]
Read MoreQueer theory emerged in the midst of crisis in the late 1980s and early 1990s: as the HIV/AIDS epidemic raged, scholars and activists sought to disrupt the stigmatization and erasure of LGBTQ lives in the Reagan/Thatcher era. In centering sexuality within cultural analysis, queer theory built on foundations established by the feminist and gay liberation […]
Read MoreTo celebrate International Women's Day from the 6th - 10th March 2017 we will be sharing brand new blog content from our authors which explore the themes of 'IWD 2017' and continue the discussion on feminism and women today and through the ages. In this blog post Gill Plain and Susan Sellers, authors of A History of Feminist Literary Criticism, ask whether we are now in a post-feminist era
Read MoreJoin the conversation: James Seaton, the author of Literary Criticism from Plato to Postmodernism outlines the debate on today's literary criticism and what approach we should take to discussing the literature of the past.
Read MoreIn this excerpt, get a peek at the latest from leading Jane Austen scholar John Wiltshire. In The Hidden Jane Austen, he offers new interpretations of Austen's six novels and a new approach to criticism when it comes to one of the most celebrated novelists in the English language.
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