THE ULTIMATE GUIDES TO EXAM SUCCESS from York Notes - the UK's favourite English Literature Study Guides. York Notes for AS & A2 have been specifically designed to help AS and A2 students get the very best grade you can. They are comprehensive, easy to use, packed with valuable features and written by experienced examiners and teachers to give you an expert understanding of the text, critical approaches and the all-important exam. This edition covers The Kite Runner and includes: An enhanced exam skills section which includes essay plans, expert guidance on understanding questions and sample answers. You'll know exactly what you need to do and say to get the best grades. A wealth of useful content like key quotations, revision tasks and vital study tips that'll help you revise, remember and recall all the most important information. The widest coverage and the best, most in-depth analysis of characters, themes, language, form, context and style to help you demonstrate an exhaustive understanding of all aspects of the text. York Notes for AS & A2 are also available for these popular titles: The Bloody Chamber(9781447913153) Doctor Faustus(9781447913177) Frankenstein (9781447913214) The Great Gatsby(9781447913207) Macbeth(9781447913146) Othello(9781447913191) WutheringHeights(9781447913184)

Love thy neighbour or fear thy neighbour? For myself and Lauren, my 10-year-old daughter No3 Beech Close was to be our refuge after two years of hell nursing my sick mother. In need of a fresh start and wanting to distance ourselves from the bad memories of my mother's house we moved to Beech Close, a small cul-de-sac of six houses situated around a picture-perfect green. It seemed perfect but I had underestimated the secrets that this tightknit community shared. Within hours of moving in my next-door neighbour Valerie made it abundantly clear we were not welcome. I soon discovered that Valerie hadn't welcomed the previous occupant either and she'd since disappeared without a trace. Had I put myself and my daughter in danger moving to Beech Close? Which neighbours, if any could I trust? And how far would they go to keep their secret? Perfect for fans of Liane Moriarty, Shari Lapena and Lisa Jewell

Packed full of analysis and interpretation, historical background, discussions and commentaries, York Notes will help you get right to the heart of the text you're studying, whether it's poetry, a play or a novel. You'll learn all about the historical context of the piece; find detailed discussions of key passages and characters; learn interesting facts about the text; and discover structures, patterns and themes that you may never have known existed. In the Advanced Notes, specific sections on critical thinking, and advice on how to read critically yourself, enable you to engage with the text in new and different ways. Full glossaries, self-test questions and suggested reading lists will help you fully prepare for your exam, while internet links and references to film, TV, theatre and the arts combine to fully immerse you in your chosen text. York Notes offer an exciting and accessible key to your text, enabling you to develop your ideas and transform your studies!

Harry Gilmore has no idea of the terrible danger he faces when he meets a beautiful girl in a local student bar. Drugged and abducted, Harry wakes up in a secure wooden compound deep in the Welsh countryside, where he is groomed by the leaders of a manipulative cult, run by the self-proclaimed new messiah known as The Master. When the true nature of the cult becomes apparent, Harry looks for any opportunity to escape. But as time passes, he questions if The Master's extreme behavior and teachings are the one true religion. With Harry's life hanging by a thread, a team of officers, led by Detective Inspector Laura Kesey, investigate his disappearance. But will they find him before it's too late? *Previously published as The Girl in White*

'Packed full of emotional wisdom, heartbreak and hope. Wonderful - I loved it.' Daily Mail A story about friends, sisters, motherhood and starting again - one day at a time... Stella fell in love with Simon hard and fast. He was everything she wanted in a husband, and he seemed to feel the same way about her. More than a decade of marriage later, life is sweet. They have three much-wanted children, a successful business, and a comfortable London home. What more could Stella possibly want? But then, out of the blue, Simon is gone. Vanished. No one knows where he's gone or why. Now Stella, with the help of her friends and family, has to pick up the pieces of her and her children's life, all the while wondering what she missed. Was her husband who he said he was, and can she trust her own memories of their life together? Helen McGinn's latest novel is a love story to friendship, sisters, motherhood and starting again - one day at a time. Perfect for fans of Elizabeth Noble, Cathy Kelly and JoJo Moyes. Praise for Helen McGinn: 'This is McGinn's third novel and it's her best yet. Packed full of emotional wisdom, heartbreak and hope and is particularly brilliant on the importance of friendship and taking things one day at a time. Wonderful - I loved it.' Daily Mail 'This is a lovely uplifting book that transported me away, firstly to the beautiful city of Rome and then to gorgeous Cornwall. It's a moving and emotional story of families in all their messy wonderfulness, of people losing one another, and then coming together again - sometimes in unexpected ways. A hugely enjoyable family tale, it was exactly what I wanted to read at this time.' Louise Douglas 'This Changes Everything is the perfect tonic. An uplifting, forget-about-everything-else read that I couldn't put down. Romantic, emotional and page-turning, Helen McGinn's debut novel can't fail to cheer you up!' Zoe Folbigg 'I loved reading this book. I needed escapism and it gave me Rome, Cornwall and a family who immediately felt like old friends. I took it to the bath, to bed and had finished it within 24 hours. It was the perfect antidote to tough times.' Victoria Moore The Daily Telegraph

"Every page brings forth the elegiac tone of JRR Tolkien's work... It is a beautiful book, including many wonderful pictures by Tolkien himself... Garth's book made me realise the impact that Tolkien has had on my life." The Times A lavishly illustrated exploration of the places that inspired and shaped the work of J.R.R. Tolkien, creator of Middle-earth. This new book from renowned expert John Garth takes us to the places that inspired J.R.R. Tolkien to create his fictional locations in The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit and other classic works. Featuring more than 100 images, it includes Tolkien's own illustrations, contributions from other artists, archive images, maps and spectacular present-day photographs. Inspirational locations range across Great Britain - particularly Tolkien's beloved West Midlands and Oxford - but also overseas to all points of the compass. Sources are located for Hobbiton, the elven valley of Rivendell, the Glittering Caves of Helm's Deep, and many other key spots in Middle-earth, as well as for its mountain scenery, forests, rivers, lakes and shorelands. A rich interplay is revealed between Tolkien's personal travels, his wide reading and his deep scholarship as an Oxford professor. Garth uses his own profound knowledge of Tolkien's life and work to uncover the extraordinary processes of invention, to debunk popular misconceptions about the inspirations for Middle-earth, and to put forward strong new claims of his own. Organised by theme, The Worlds of J.R.R. Tolkien is an illustrated journey into the life and imagination of one of the world's best-loved authors, an exploration of the relationship between worlds real and fantastical, and an inspiration for anyone who wants to follow in Tolkien's footsteps.

L.M.Montgomery grew up in Prince Edward Island, a real place of "politics and potatoes." But it's her fictional island, a richly textured imaginative landscape that has captivated a world of readers since 1908, when Anne of Green Gables became the first of Montgomery's long string of bestsellers. In this wide-ranging and highly readable book, Elizabeth Waterston uses the term "magic" to suggest that peculiar, indefinable combination of attributes that unpredictably results in creative genius. Montgomery's intelligence, her drive, and her sense of humour are essential components of this success. Waterston also features what Montgomery called her "dream life," a "strange inner life of fancy which had always existed side by side with my outer life." This special ability to look beyond the veil, to access vibrant inner vistas, produced deceptively layered fictions out of a life that saw not just its share of both fame and ill fortune, but also what Waterston calls "dark passions." A true reader's guide, Magic Island explores the world of L.M. Montgomery in a way never done before. Each chapter of Magic Island discusses a different Montgomery book, following their progression chronologically. Waterston draws parallels between Montgomery's internal "island," her personal life, her professional career, and the characters in her novels. Designed to be read alongside the new biography of Montgomery by Mary Rubio, this is the first book to reinterpret Montgomery's writing in light of important new information about her life. A must-read for any Montgomery fan, Magic Island offers a fresh and insightful look at the world of L.M. Montgomery and the "magic" of artistic creation.

Mazo de la Roche leaped to prominence as one of the most successful writers of the twentieth century when the first novel in her Whiteoaks of Jalna series won the Atlantic Monthly Prize in 1927. The award was hailed not only as a triumph for Mazo but as marking the coming of age of Canadian literature. Therefore her popularity, which earned her a luxurious life-style that included baronial manors in the English countryside, a retinue of devoted servants, and a fondness for world travel, abated only with her death in 1961. The centre of her life was her overwhelming love for her cousin, Caroline Clement, whom she adopted as a sister and who was her life-long companion, soulmate, and muse. The core of their existence was a secret unwritten play-endlessly changing and growing-that they acted out from the moment they met almost to the end of their lives. In this insightful biography Joan Givner has recovered the hidden life of Mazo de la Roche.

When Bunny Carter, the old lady from the Manor House, is discovered in an open grave, Sophie Sayers is sure it's a case of foul play. But when it comes to suspects, she's spoiled for choice. One of Bunny's squabbling children from three different husbands? Petunia Lot from the Cats Prevention charity, always angling for a legacy? All these and more had motive and opportunity. But who is to blame? And can Sophie and her boyfriend, village bookseller Hector Munro, stop them before they strike again? Previously published by Debbie Young.

Mining the borderlands where history meets literature in Britain and Europe as well as America, this book shows how the imminence and outbreak of World War II ignited the imaginations of writers ranging from Ernest Hemingway, W.H. Auden, and James Joyce to Bertolt Brecht, Evelyn Waugh, Henry Green, and Irene Nemirovsky. Taking its cue from Percy Shelley's dictum that great writers are to some extent created by the age in which they live, this book shows how much the politics and warfare of the years from 1939 to 1941 drove the literature of this period. Its novels, poems, and plays differ radically from histories of World War II because-besides being works of imagination-- they are largely products of a particular stage in the author's life as well as of a time at which no one knew how the war would end. This is the first comprehensive study of the impact of the outbreak of the Second World War on the literary work of American, English, and European writers during its first years.

'Utterly fascinating' Daisy Goodwin, Sunday Times Benjamin Franklin took daily naked air baths and Toulouse-Lautrec painted in brothels. Edith Sitwell worked in bed, and George Gershwin composed at the piano in pyjamas. Freud worked sixteen hours a day, but Gertrude Stein could never write for more than thirty minutes, and F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote in gin-fuelled bursts - he believed alcohol was essential to his creative process. From Marx to Murakami and Beethoven to Bacon, Daily Rituals by Mason Currey presents the working routines of more than a hundred and sixty of the greatest philosophers, writers, composers and artists ever to have lived. Whether by amphetamines or alcohol, headstand or boxing, these people made time and got to work. Featuring photographs of writers and artists at work, and filled with fascinating insights on the mechanics of genius and entertaining stories of the personalities behind it, Daily Rituals is irresistibly addictive, and utterly inspiring.

When 12 year-old Jared Johnson's little sister dies, just hours after his mother breathes her last after wasting away so her children could eat, he knows he is on own. Desperate to avoid the workhouse, he does everything he can to survive the inhospitable streets of Birmingham. Jared is blessed with the gift of the gab and soon attracts the attention of the King of the Tatters, Toby McGuire. Recognising a kindred spirit, Toby soon has Jared out on a cart hustling for rags. Jared loves driving his horse Bess, shouting 'any old rags' as loud as he can, and it's not long before he's thriving. But being successful can bring you enemies as well as friends. Toby knows that Jared is destined for bigger things - provided his big mouth doesn't get him hurt first... The top 10 best-seller is back with an unforgettable story about an unforgettable boy. Heart-breaking and heart-warming, fans of Katie Flynn, Val Wood and Lyn Andrews will fall in love with this latest page-turner from Lindsey Hutchinson. What readers are saying about Lindsey Hutchinson: 'Couldn't put this book down. Brilliant story with many sad bits, but lovely happy ending. I would thoroughly recommend this book.' 'What a fabulous book from Lindsey again. She never disappoints. Read in 2 days it really is unputdownable! Can't wait for the next one as I know it will be another cracker.' 'It's a while since I didn't want a book to end. I absolutely loved this story as I have all of this author's books. She can't write fast enough for me, every book has been as lovely as the last and as usual I can't wait for the next.' 'Oh my goodness, I fell in love with each and everyone of the characters, except Edith, am glad to say she got her just rewards. Lindsey, you make them so loveable and real. Read it in 2 days. Brilliant!!!'

The most substantial collection of critical essays on Morrison to appear since her death in mid-2019, this book contains previously unpublished essays which both acknowledge the universal significance of her writing even as they map new directions. Essayists include pre-eminent Morrison scholars, as well as scholars who work in cultural criticism, African American letters, American modernism, and women's writing. The book includes work on Morrison as a public intellectual; work which places Morrison's writing within today's currents of contemporary fiction; work which draws together Morrison's "trilogy" of Beloved, Jazz, and Paradise alongside Dos Passos' USA trilogy; work which links Morrison to such Black Atlantic artists as Lubaina Himid and others as well as work which offers a reading of "influence" that goes both directions between Morrison and Faulkner. Another cluster of essays treats seldom-discussed works by Morrison, including an essay on Morrison as writer of children's books and as speaker for children's education. In addition, a "Teaching Morrison" section is designed to help teachers and critics who teach Morrison in undergraduate classes. The Bloomsbury Handbook to Toni Morrison is wide-ranging, provocative, and satisfying; a fitting tribute to one of the greatest American novelists.

Oscar Wilde had one of literary history's most explosive love affairs with Lord Alfred "Bosie" Douglas. In 1895, Bosie's father, the Marquess of Queensberry, delivered a note to the Albemarle Club addressed to "Oscar Wilde posing as sodomite." With Bosie's encouragement, Wilde sued the Marquess for libel. He not only lost but he was tried twice for "gross indecency" and sent to prison with two years' hard labor. With this publication of the uncensored trial transcripts, readers can for the first time in more than a century hear Wilde at his most articulate and brilliant. The Real Trial of Oscar Wilde documents an alarmingly swift fall from grace; it is also a supremely moving testament to the right to live, work, and love as one's heart dictates.

The Santa Killer is coming to town...One night less than two weeks before Christmas, a single mother is violently assaulted. It's a brutal crime at the time of year when there should be goodwill to all. When DI Barton begins his investigation, he's surprised to find the victim is a woman with nothing to hide and no reason for anyone to hurt her. A few days later, the mother of the woman attacked rings the police station. Her granddaughter has drawn a shocking picture. It seems she was looking out of the window when her mother was attacked. And when her grandmother asks the young girl who the person with the weapon is, she whispers two words. Bad Santa. The rumours start spreading, and none of the city's women feel safe - which one of them will be next? He's got a list. It's quite precise. It won't matter even if you're nice. Ross Greenwood is back with his bestselling series, perfect for fans of Mark Billingham and Ian Rankin. Praise for Ross Greenwood: 'Ross Greenwood is at the top of his game.' Owen Mullen 'Move over Rebus and Morse; a new entry has joined the list of great crime investigators in the form of Detective Inspector John Barton. A rich cast of characters and an explosive plot kept me turning the pages until the final dramatic twist.' author Richard Burke 'Master of the psychological thriller genre Ross Greenwood once again proves his talent for creating engrossing and gritty novels that draw you right in and won't let go until you've reached the shocking ending.' Caroline Vincent at Bitsaboutbooks blog 'Ross Greenwood doesn't write cliches. What he has written here is a fast-paced, action-filled puzzle with believable characters that's spiced with a lot of humour.' author Kath Middleton

Key Features: * Study methods * Introduction to the text * Summaries with critical notes * Themes and techniques * Textual analysis of key passages * Author biography * Historical and literary background * Modern and historical critical approaches * Chronology * Glossary of literary terms

York Notes Advanced have been written by acknowledged literature experts for the specific needs of advanced level and undergraduate students. They offer a fresh and accessible approach to the Study of English literature. Building on the successful formula of York Notes, this Advanced series introduces students to more sophisticated analysis and wider critical perspectives. This enables students to appreciate contrasting interpretations of the text and to develop their own critical thinking. York Notes Advanced help to make the study of literature more fulfilling and lead to exam success. They will also be of interest to the general reader, as they cover the widest range of popular literature titles. Key Features: Study methods - Introduction to the text - Summaries with critical notes - Themes and techniques - Textual analysis of key passages - Author biography - Historical and literary background - Modern and historical critical approaches - Chronology - Glossary of literary terms. General Editors: Martin Gray - Head of Literary Studies, University of Luton; Professor A.N. Jeffares - Emeritus Professor of English, University of Stirling.

A wandering "Orpheus among the barbarians," a lively flatterer of the powerful and an appreciator of good food and pleasant company: the sixth-century poet Venantius Fortunatus is known to us today for being all these things. Yet in the Middle Ages people knew and loved "Fortunatus the priest:" a man of the Church and a teacher of Christian dogma. This book for the first time looks at this other side of Fortunatus' character through the lens of what he wrote when he was bishop of Poitiers at the end of his life: two sermons and a hymn to the Virgin Mary. Here you will encounter something unexpected: Bishop Fortunatus the stern yet skillful preacher of Augustinian grace and Chalcedonian orthodoxy.

The Secular Rabbi is an intellectual biography of Philip Rahv, co-founder of Partisan Review, which T.S. Eliot called the best American literary periodical. It focuses on the ambivalent ties that Rahv, a Russian immigrant, retained to his Jewish cultural background. Drawing on letters Rahv wrote to her mother from 1928 to 1931, when he was still named Philip Greenberg, Doris Kadish delves into the complex and enigmatic character of a man admired by luminaries as diverse as George Orwell, Mary McCarthy, Saul Bellow, Elizabeth Hardwick, and William Styron. Textual analyses of Rahv's works are woven together with other disparate materials: historical accounts, genealogical records, memoirs by Rahv's colleagues, friends, and associates, interviews with persons who knew him, and the abundant body of secondary scholarship devoted to the New York intellectuals, the history of Partisan Review, and Jewish studies. Kadish positions herself in relation to Rahv in attempting to understand her own Jewish identity. In tracing Rahv's personal, political, and literary evolution, Kadish sheds light on such literary movements as modernism, proletarian literature, and Jewish writing as well as movements that defined American political history in the 20th century: immigration, socialism, communism, fascism, the cold war, feminism, and the New Left.

In a career that spanned over thirty years, Iain M. Banks became one of the best-loved and most prolific writers in Britain, with his space opera series concerned with the pan-galactic utopian civilisation known as "the Culture" widely regarded as his most significant contribution to science fiction. The Culture of "The Culture" focuses solely on this series, providing a comprehensive, thematic analysis of Banks's Culture stories from Consider Phlebas to The Hydrogen Sonata. It explores the development of Banks's political, philosophical and literary thought, arguing that the Culture offers both an image of a harmonious civilisation modelled on an alternative socialist form of globalisation and a critique of our neo-liberal present. As Joseph Norman explains, the Culture is the result of an ongoing utopian process, attempting through the application of technoscience to move beyond obstacles to progress such as imperialism, capitalism, the human condition, religious dogma, patriarchy and crises in artistic representation. The Culture of "The Culture" defines Banks's creation as culture: a utopian way of doing, of being, of seeing: an approach, an attitude and a lifestyle that has enabled, and is evolving alongside, utopia, rather than an image of a static end-state.

The viscerally haunting and politically disturbing Painted Bird, the most famous novel by the Polish-American writer, Jerzy Kosinski, finally receives a long overdue fresh scientific perspective: a truly insightful study of linguistic and cultural controversy in translation against the benchmark of a tailor-made iron-clad methodology of such concepts as involved culture, detached culture and the universe of the opus. The study presents the kaleidoscopic cross section of renditions into as many as thirteen languages, making it a pioneering elaboration of a macrocosm of the afterlife of a translated novel and a tour de force of comparative translation studies. The dark contents of the work, heavily loaded with political and moral issues, vulnerable to shifts and refractions in the process of translation, have been analysed, unaffected by ideological sway, debunking any persistent myths about Kosinski's harrowing work.