Victorian Literature

KLIATT

This new series is a subset of Greenhaven's Literary Companion series, offering anthologies of articles on aspects of different literary movements. Greek Drama, for example, starts out by introducing its origins and the difficulty of reconstructing how the dramas were originally staged, then provides sets of articles on the characteristics and conventions of Greek drama, Greek tragedy and Greek comedy, and its living legacy. A chronology at the end helps place events in time, and the annotated table of contents and the brief summaries that preface each article will help YAs navigate easily through these titles. The articles have been excerpted from a variety of sources, and edited for clarity. English students and teachers alike will appreciate these collections of literary criticism that examine a variety of authors, styles, and themes. KLIATT Codes: SA—Recommended for senior high school students, advanced students, and adults. 2000, Greenhaven Press, 208p, 22cm, bibliog, index, $13.96. Ages 16 to adult. Reviewer: Paula Rohrlick; May 2000 (Vol. 34 No. 3)

School Library Journal

Gr 12 Up-This scholarly anthology of critical essays that have been published in academic journals and other books provides an introduction to the Victorian literary movement that took place in England from 1830 to 1900. Historical and political background is given at the beginning of each chapter, along with other pertinent information that will help readers to better understand the literature of this period. Subsequent sections offer critical analyses of specific authors and works such as Matthew Arnold, Charles Dickens, the Bront' sisters, and George Eliot. Though the information is accurate and the arguments presented in the essays are written by well-known scholars, the dry writing style and academic nature of the essays will not appeal to students.-Sarah Smith, Harrison Community Library, MI Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.|