Books in Backgrounds to English Literature series

An engaging, full-color illustrated guide to the romantic and transcendentalist era in American literature, this updated volume provides important information on the foundations of romantic thought, romanticism and the new nation, gothic romance and sentimentalism, transcendentalism, Nathaniel Hawthorne and Herman Melville, and romanticism and poetic voice. New to this edition is a section discussing American idealism.

A series that is ideal for middle and high school readers examines the history, development and people integral to the evolution of American literature, placing it into historical, cultural and social context as well as exploring the political, religious, cultural, economic and social trends of each period, discussing how these trends affected the literature of the time.

Focusing on a variety of topics, from the violence of war and the struggle for civil rights to the social impact of technology and the moral significance of money, this colorfully illustrated guide to American literature from the postwar period to the present day has been expanded and fully updated. A new section titled Into the Future contains a discussion of the best young writers of recent years. A concise, engaging guide to American contemporary literature, this volume provides information on 21st-century writers; the 1950s, '60s, and beyond; contemporary American poetry; and the postmodern movement.

A series that is ideal for middle and high school readers examines the history, development and people integral to the evolution of American literature, placing it into historical, cultural and social context as well as exploring the political, religious, cultural, economic and social trends of each period, discussing how these trends affected the literature of the time.