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"Written in prose that is clear and free from the diktat of theory and criticism, A Little History of Literature is an enjoyable account of a lifelong involvement with literature."―John Vukmirovich, Times Literary Supplement

"A genial, enthusiastic guide leads a jaunt through literary history. . . . [Sutherland’s] aim is not to draw a line between high art and low, but to share his prodigious joy of reading."―Kirkus Reviews

"This slim book makes for a necessarily cursory review of literature’s greats ？ and the loving treatment by an expert . . . will please both novices and established readers looking to dip back into well-loved works."―Shelf Awareness

"John Sutherland is among the handful of critics whose every book I must have. He's sharp-eyed and sharp-tongued, with a generous heart and a wise head."―Jay Parini

Chapter Page
1. What is Literature? 1
2. Fabulous Beginnings: Myth 7
3. Writing for Nations: Epic 13
4. Being Human: Tragedy 20
5. English Tales: Chaucer 26
6. Theatre on the Street: The Mystery Plays 33
7. The Bard: Shakespeare 40
8. The Book of Books: The King James Bible 47
9. Minds Unchained: The Metaphysicals 54
10. Nations Rise: Milton and Spenser 61
11. Who 'Owns' Literature?: Printing, Publishing and Copyright 68
12. The House of Fiction 75
13. Travellers 'Tall Tales: Defoe, Swift and the Rise of the Novel 82
14. How to Read: Dr Johnson 88
15. Romantic Revolutionaries 94
16. The Sharpest Mind: Austen 101
17. Books for You: The Changing Reading Public 108
18. The Giant: Dickens 114
19. Life in Literature: The Brontës 121
20. Under the Blankets: Literature and Children 128
21. Flowers of Decadence: Wilde, Baudelaire, Proust and Whitman 134
22. Poets Laureate: Tennyson 141
23. New Lands: America and the American Voice 147
24. The Great Pessimist: Hardy 154
25. Dangerous Books: Literature and the Censor 161
26. Empire: Kipling, Conrad and Forster 168
27. Doomed Anthems: The War Poets 175
28. The Year that Changed Everything: 1922 and the Modernists 182
29. A Literature of Her Own: Woolf 188
30. Brave New Worlds: Utopias and Dystopias 195
31. Boxes of Tricks: Complex Narratives 202
32. Off the Page: Literature on Film, TV and the Stage 208
33. Absurd Existences: Kafka, Camus, Beckett and Pinter 214
34. The Poetry of Breakdown: Lowell, Plath, Larkin and Hughes 221
35. Colourful Cultures: Literature and Race 228
36. Magical Realisms: Borges, Grass, Rushdie and Márquez 235
37. Republic of Letters: Literature Without Borders 241
38. Guilty Pleasures: Bestsellers and Potboilers 248
39. Who's Best?: Prizes, Festivals and Reading Groups 254
40. Literature in Your Lifetime… and Beyond 260
Index 267

“An enjoyable account of a lifelong involvement with literature.”―John Vukmirovich, Times Literary Supplement

This “little history” takes on a very big subject: the glorious span of literature from Greek myth to graphic novels, from The Epic of Gilgamesh to Harry Potter. Beloved author, John Sutherland, who has researched, taught, and written on virtually every area of literature, guides both young readers and the adults in their lives on an entertaining journey “through the wardrobe” to show how literature from across the world can transport us and help us to make sense of what it means to be human. Along the way he introduces us to a wide range of works, enlivening his offerings with humor as well as learning―from Beowulf and Shakespeare to T. S. Eliot and George Orwell, and from the rude jests of Anglo-Saxon runes to The Da Vinci Code.

For younger readers, Sutherland offers a proper introduction to literature, promising to interest as much as instruct. For more experienced readers, he promises just the same.