Akron Public Library

The nineteenth century saw Ireland lose half of its population to famine, emigration, or deportation to penal colonies in Australia--often for infractions as common as stealing food. Among the victims of this tragedy were Thomas Keneally's own forebearers, and they were his inspiration to tell the story of the Irish who struggled and ultimately triumphed in Australia and North America. Relying on rare primary sources--including personal letters, court...

"The book focuses on the relationship between American and British dramas written by and about gay men and the changing gay culture those plays reflect. From the era of the carefully enforced closet and the coming of liberation politics to the tragedy of the AIDS epidemic and the qualified security of the present era, Still Acting Gay chronicles the transition of the gay man as subject for sensational melodrama to creator of many of the most powerful...

Features critical summaries and descriptions of the greatest works of literature by women authors.

First published in 1947, this acknowledged classic of American literary criticism explores the influences-especially Shakespearean ones-on Melville's writing of Moby-Dick. One of the first Melvilleans to advance what has since become known as the "theory of the two Moby-Dicks," Olson argues that there were two versions of Moby-Dick, and that Melville's reading King Lear for the first time in between the first and second versions of the book had a...

Explores how the works of great poets throughout history have been influenced by the beauty of the night sky and the scientific discoveries of their times.