Series Editors: Kinley E. Roby, Northeastern University; Herbert Sussman, Northeastern University; Joseph Bartolomeo, University of Massachusetts; George Economou, University of Oklahoma; Arthur F. Kinney, University of Massachusetts
Twaynes United States Authors, English Authors, and World Authors Series present concise critical introductions to great writers and their works.
Devoted to critical interpretation and discussion of an authors work, each study takes account of major literary trends and important scholarly contributions and provides new critical insights with an original point of view. An Authors Series volumeaddresses readers ranging from advanced high school students to university professors. The book suggests to the informed reader new ways of considering a writers work. A reader new to the work under examination will, after reading theAuthors Series, be compelled to turn to the originals, bringing to the reading a basic knowledge and fresh critical perspectives. Each volume features:
- A critical, interpretive study and explication of the authors works
- A brief biography of the author
- An accessible chronology outlining the life, work, and relevant historical background of the author
- Aids for further study -- complete notes and references, a selected annotated bibliography, and an index
- A readable style presented in a manageable length
Organizing his material chronologically, Meanor presents a clear and gracefully composed reading of each volume, incorporating critical commentary and biographical data where these illuminate the text. Underscored throughout is Meanor's premise that the lifework of Bruce Chatwin "documents the brutal consequences that modern industrialized and technological forces imposed on so-called primitive people and simultaneously celebrates the idiosyncratic diversity of the remarkable worlds he explored." An eminently useful companion to courses in travel writing and English literature, Bruce Chatwin is certain to be well received by students, scholars, librarians, and general readers. Enhancing the text are a preface, acknowledgments, chronology, notes and references, selected bibliography, and index.