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Bestsellers: A Very Short Introduction shows that bestseller lists monitor one of the strongest pulses in modern literature and are therefore worthy of serious study. It lifts the lid on the bestseller industry, examines what makes a book into a bestseller, and asks what separates bestsellers from canonical fiction. Exploring the relationship between bestsellers and the fashions, ideologies, and cultural concerns of the day, this VSI includes short case-studies and lively summaries of bestsellers through the years, including both classic and contemporary novels, alongside some surprising titles and long-forgotten namesLess

Crime Fiction: A Very Short Introduction explores the history of ‘crime fiction’ and the various definitions of the genre and considers how it has developed over time. Discussing the popularity of crime fiction worldwide and its various styles; the role that gender plays within the genre; spy fiction, legal dramas, and thrillers; it explores how the crime novel was shaped by the work of British and American authors in the 18th and 19th centuries. Highlighting the works of Edgar Allan Poe, Arthur Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie, and Raymond Chandler, the role of the crime novel in modern popular culture is considered and it asks whether crime fiction can be considered serious ‘literature’.Less

Attending both to Kafka's crisis-ridden life and to the subtleties of his art, Kafka: A Very Short Introduction shows how his work explores such characteristically modern themes as the place of the body in culture, the power of institutions over people, and the possibility of religion after Nietzsche had proclaimed ‘the death of God’. Kafka is among the most intriguing and influential writers of the 20th century. During his lifetime he worked as a civil servant and published only a few short stories. All three of his novels, The Trial, The Castle, and The Man Who Disappeared [Amerika], were published after his death and helped to found Kafka's reputation as a uniquely perceptive interpreter of the 20th century.Less

Science Fiction: A Very Short Introduction looks at the emergence of science fiction as a popular genre in the 20th century. It examines science fiction in film and literature and compares the two media and also looks at examples of drama and poetry. It examines the way changes in science and technology have affected human perception and behaviour and how this has been reflected in science fiction. This analysis is done with reference to a number of recurring themes in science fiction: voyages into space, the concept of the alien, utopias and dystopias, and the role of technology, and science fiction's relationship to time.Less