The Literature Book

reexamines the ideology and power

structures that underpin the

selections of previous generations,

and questions why certain other

works were excluded. Arguably,

studying how literature is created

and testing its place in the canon

may help to make us better readers.

In the same spirit, this book features

many titles that are traditionally

regarded as “great works,” but

explores their place in the wider

story of literature, and within a richer

mix of writing drawn from around

the globe. They sit alongside newer

texts that empower some of the

voices that were silenced over the

centuries by social constructs such

as colonialism and patriarchy, and

Europe’s dominance over literature.

Choosing books

This book takes a chronological

journey through literature, using

more than a hundred books as

guideposts along the route. It

also takes a global approach,

exploring literary texts from a

wide range of different cultures

that many readers may not have

encountered previously.

The Literature Book’s chosen

works are either exemplars of a

particular writing style or technique,

or represent a group or movement

that took a new direction, which

was then adopted by other

contemporary writers or expanded

upon by future generations. The

works are arranged chronologically

to highlight the emergence of

literary innovations against the

social and political backdrop of

their times. For example, during

the 17th and 18th century, French

literature evolved from Molière’s

neoclassical comedies of manners

into Voltaire’s satirical undermining

of Enlightenment optimism, and

later into a savage depiction of

decadent French aristocracy shown

in Pierre Choderlos de Laclos’ Les

Liaisons Dangereuses, published

in the lead-up to the French

Revolution. These changes in

literature inevitably overlap as

writers pioneered techniques that

took time to enter the mainstream,

while others continued literary

traditions from previous eras.

Lists are always contentious;

arguably the hundred or so books

chosen here could be replaced

with a hundred others, many

times over. They are not presented

as a definitive list of “must reads,”

instead each work is framed by a

focus or context that is supported

by a timeline of related literary

milestones and events. Cross-

references link to works of a similar

type, or that have influenced or

been influenced by the book under

discussion, while more than 200

titles are listed for further reading,

exploring the literary landscape

of each period in greater detail.

The story of literature

Around 4,000 years ago, the first

stories to be written down came

in the form of poems such as

Mesopotamia’s The Epic of

Gilgamesh and India’s Mahabharata,

which were based on oral traditions.

Rhyme, rhythm, and meter

were essential aids to memory in

songs and oral accounts, so it is

unsurprising that the first texts

made use of familiar poetic devices.

Many early written texts were

religious, and sacred texts such

as the Bible and the Koran tell ❯❯

INTRODUCTION 13

Some books leave us

free and some books

make us free.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

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