Newest Study Guides

The Splendid and the Vile Erik Larson

The Splendid and the Vile is a non-fiction portrait of Winston Churchill during the first months of his term as British Prime Minister. Churchill stepped into this role during the most troubling of times in European history; his first day in...

The Body Keeps the Score Bessel Van Der Kolk

In his book The Body Keeps the Score, Bessel Van Der Kolk argues that trauma exists everywhere and is a fact of life for most - if not all - people. 25% of Americans are alcoholics; 20% have been molested; 33% of couples engage in physical...

River of the Gods Candice Millard

“River of the Gods” is a nonfiction book by Candice Millard that focuses on the European frenzy surrounding the Orientalism of the 19th century and the culture of Egypt in particular. The prologue of the book itself is titled Obsession, and it...

Corrections in Ink Keri Blakinger

Keri Blakinger's memoir Corrections in Ink chronicles the author's journey from her life of acclaim in the ice rink to her less desirable and sad life of addiction, crime, and a prison sentence. While in prison, Blakinger grappled with the...

The Last Thing He Told Me Laura Dave

One day, a man called Owen Michaels disappears. Before he disappears, however, he manages to sneak his wife a note that reads "protect her." While she is perplexed, Owen's wife becomes clear that Owen's note refers to his daughter, Bailey. The...

Felix Randal Gerard Manley Hopkins

"Felix Randal" is a poem written by British poet Gerard Manley Hopkins in 1880, first published posthumously in 1918. Partly inspired by Hopkin’s own experience as a Jesuit priest, the poem shows a priest (thought to be Hopkins himself)...

Half of a Yellow Sun Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Half of a Yellow Sun (2006) is one of the seminal works of literature written by Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (born in 1977). It chronicles the Nigerian Civil War of the late 1960s, depicting a politically charged climate. In...

The Poetry of Robert Creeley Robert Creeley

Robert Creeley (1926 - 2005) was an American writer commonly associated with the group known as the Black Mountain Poets. He is now widely recognized as one of the most influential poets of the last half-century. He was known for his compressed...

William Carlos Williams: Poems William Carlos Williams

William Carlos Williams (1883-1963) was a Puerto Rican-American poet whose work was central to the Imagism and Modernism movements. He operated in a variety of registers, from plainspoken to lyrical to darkly sardonic, but was always concerned...

To The Memory of Mr. Oldham John Dryden

"To the Memory of Mr. Oldham" is a 1684 poem by the English satirist John Dryden, elegizing the fellow poet John Oldham, who died in 1683. Dryden and Oldham were socially acquainted, making the poem both a tribute to Dryden's departed friend and a...

I Know a Man Robert Creeley

“I Know a Man” is a poem by American author Robert Creeley that deals with the problem of finding meaning in contemporary life. First published in 1955, it later appeared as part of his 1991 collection, Selected Poems of Robert Creeley. Creeley...

Heroes (poem) Robert Creeley

“Heroes” is a poem by American author Robert Creeley about the afterlife of myths and legends. The poem first appeared in his 1960 collection For Love: Poems, 1950–1960, and was republished in The Collected Poems of Robert Creeley 1945-1975....

The World (poem) Robert Creeley

"The World" is a poem by American writer Robert Creeley. First published in 1962, the poem describes a man struggling to provide comfort to his wife in the middle of the night. Creeley was a prominent member of the Black Mountain Poets, a group of...

The Jade Peony Wayson Choy

Published in 1995, The Jade Peony is author Wayson Choy’s first novel. The settings and themes reflect Choy's own experiences growing up in Vancouver's Chinatown neighborhood. The book was a significant critical success, and has been subsequently...

Frankenstein Mary Shelley

The early nineteenth century was not a good time to be a female writer -- particularly if one was audacious enough to be a female novelist. Contemporary beliefs held that no one would be willing to read the work of a woman; the fantastic success...

In the Park Gwen Harwood

“In the Park” is a poem by Gwen Harwood that describes the experience and thoughts of a woman with three young children who encounters her former lover at a park. The poem was first published in 1961 under the pseudonym Walter Lehmann. Throughout...

Second Class Citizen Buchi Emecheta

Second Class Citizen is a novel written by Nigerian-born author Buchi Emecheta. It concerns a young Nigerian girl’s dream to move to the United Kingdom in pursuit of a better life. After arriving in London, she grapples with her cruel husband, the...

Anatomy of a Scandal Sarah Vaughan

Anatomy of a Scandal tells the story of a man called James, a man and public figure who seemingly has everything going for him. He has a doting wife, is charismatic, financially comfortable, intelligent, and handsome. James, however, is accused of...