History & Criticism

UBSPD's Modern Shakespeare Series is basically meant for those reading the works of William Shakespeare for the first time, particularly students. Each volume comprises of complete text with a detailed introduction and notes.... More

In 1913 an orphan girl boards a steamship bound for Wuhu in South East China. Left in the hands of her soft-hearted but opium-addicted uncle she is delivered to The Hall of Eternal Splendour which, with its painted faces and troubling cries in the night, seems destined to break her spirit.And yet th... More

The Pearl is a parable about how Kino the fisherman finds the 'pearl of the world', and the trauma that he, his wife Juana and the baby Coyotito have to undergo as a result of Kino having the greatest pearl any man ever had. Its possession changes Kino's life- for the worse. Those who had refused to... More

New Book... More

A young Englishman branded as a coward seeks personal redemption for an act of selfishness... More

Lord Jim (1900), gave Conrad the first indisputable claim to classic rank. That it is one of the finest stories, few will deny, and it is significant that it is based on personal experience of the sea which became Conard's metaphor for life's fitful fevers. To Conrad, the testing time for a man come... More

No dramatist to this day, among us, has matched O'Neill in depicting the nighmare realities that can affict American Family life, indeed family life in the twentieth century Western world.. The helpnessness of family love to sustain, let alone heal, the wounds of marriage, of parenthood, and of sons... More

The Faerie Queene is famous as an extended allegorical poem, so this guide encourages the reader to think about the process of reading, and particularly of reading allegory. The Faerie Queene is a demanding poem which requires not only an actively engaged reader but a reader prepared to learn differ... More

Bukowski for Beginners,evaluates the life and literary achievements of the 'cult writer' whose voice of dissidence and discontent is still being heard and appreciated by readers worldwide. The books in this series deal with a vast and diverse range of subjects—history, philosophy, current events, ... More

This is the flamboyant autobiography of the uninhibited and wonderful Quentin Crisp. Quentin Crisp was a true original. With his mauve hair and flamboyant sense of style, by the time of his death he was widely hailed as one of the great British eccentrics. An openly gay man in a less tolerant era (h... More