An exploration of how seven of the greatest English novels of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries portray the essential experiences of life. For Mendelson--a professor of English and comparative literature at Columbia University--these classic novels tell life stories that are valuable to readers who are thinking about the course of their own lives. Looking beyond theories to the individual intentions of the authors and taking into consideration...

Professor Spurgin, of Lawrence University, traces the novel from its beginnings in the 18th century, when Samuel Richardson penned Pamela, to its culmination in the work of the 20th century Modernists, including Lawrence, Joyce, and Woolf. He also relates plots and characters of particular novels to larger movements in English history. By placing more than two centuries of great English novelists in the context of British history, Professor Spurgin...

"This book identifies 100 of the most intriguing characters from some of the most well-known novels published over several centuries, from Hester Prynne and Harry Potter to Jay Gatsby and T.S. Garp. The book profiles these memorable characters and details their significance both at the time they were created and today"--