Literature Insights titles aim to leave the reader with a sense both of the cultural and historical context of the work and also of its richness. While readers will be alerted to the work’s various strands of significance, they will be left with a sense of the interpretive decisions, valuations and aesthetic responses that they still have to make.

“The point of Literature Insights is not to replicate the usual kind of study guide (all summaries and suggested answers) but to distil people’s long experience of what really matters in teaching a particular text, alert students to critical issues and doubtful questions, and help them to enjoy the author’s strategies and mind-set. Insights are like pocket battleships. They are much shorter than full length academic studies, but up-to-date, authoritative and punchy.”