The first full biography of Ursula Moray Williams has been published to mark the centenary of her birth. In this article, its author, Colin Davison, assesses her work in the context of her life, paying particular attention to the way that her extraordinary childhood influenced her writing. He also examines new evidence about where her ideas came…

As the world marks the 200th anniversary of Charles Dickens's birth, social workers may take note of the contributions Dickens made to 19th century social reform. Ever the advocate for people who were poor and oppressed, Dickens, in his timeless fictional narratives, continues to have relevance for contemporary social justice advocacy. This…

Two months before he died, John Keats claimed he had been poisoned. Although most scholars and biographers have attributed Keats's fears of persecution, betrayal, and murder to consumptive dementia, Keats's suspicions had begun long before 1820 and were not without some justification. In this article, the author talks about the death of John…

This article draws upon evidence from letters, prose, poetry, and biographies of William Butler Yeats and concludes that this nineteenth-century poet probably suffered from dyslexia. (DB)

This study examined children's literature and the development of biography intended for juvenile readers. The writer assembled a list of characteristics of writing for children, reviewed the growth of biography as a literary form, and noted the difference between biography written for the child audience and that intended for adults. Qualities were…

This is a collection of lectures by distinguished members of the English profession who were invited to lecture to schools located far from large urban and cultural centers. Included are papers by: John H. Fisher, "Truth Versus Beauty: An Inquiry into the Function of Language and Literature in an Articulate Society"; Walter Loban, "The Green…

Examines historical, critical, and even psychological" relationship of Macaulay to Johnson, and describes Macaulay's ambivalent attitude to Johnson. (Author/SP)

How the novel "1984" evolved out of Orwell's mind and experience is examined. The novel was meant to be much more than an attack on the Soviet Union and communism. The real target is the deadly combination of advanced technology and unbridled exercise of power over the individual. (RM)

THESE TWO TESTS--"JULIUS CAESAR" AND "AUTOBIOGRAPHY"--WERE DESIGNED BY THE OREGON CURRICULUM STUDY CENTER FOR A 10TH-GRADE LITERATURE CURRICULUM. THEY ARE INTENDED TO ACCOMPANY CURRICULUM UNITS AVAILABLE AS ED 010 817 AND ED 010 818. (MM)

This textbook is a reader that aims to interest the youthful mind, furnish scope for effective reading, and facilitate study of literature and the history of literature. Many pieces are suitable for declamation.

One of a series of works aimed at presenting contemporary critical opinion on major authors, this collection includes essays by G. Wilson Knight, Bernard Blackstone, Mario Praz, Paul West, Guy Steffan, F. R. Leavis, W. W. Robson, Helen Gardner, George M. Ridenour, Edmund Wilson, Gilbert Highet, Bertrand Russell, and John Wain--all dealing with the…

One of a series of works aimed at presenting contemporary critical opinion on major authors, this collection includes essays by Virginia Woolf, C. S. Lewis, Edmund Wilson, Ian Watt, Alan D. McKillop, Reuben A. Brower, Marvin Mudrick, Mark Schorer, Arnold Kettle, Lionel Trilling, Kingsley Amis, Andrew H. Wright, Donald J. Greene, and D. W.…

This book is intended as a comprehensive and systematic guide to the literary topography of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. Events in the lives of approximately 350 writers and poets are discussed in connection with the geographic areas where the events occurred. Information about literary houses, libraries, museums with literary records,…

One of a series of works aimed at presenting contemporary critical opinion on major authors, this collection includes essays by Dorothy Van Ghent, Marvin Mudrick, Mark Schorer, Harry T. Moore, Julian Moynahan, Monroe Engel, Graham Hough, Mark Spilka, W. D. Snodgrass, V. de S. Pinto, Arthur E. Waterman, Richard Foster, and Raymond Williams--all…