The 100 Greatest Literary Characters

This book identifies 100 of the most intriguing characters from some of the most well-known novels published over several centuries, from Hester Prynne and Harry Potter to Jay Gatsby and T.S. Garp. The book profiles these memorable characters and details their significance both at the time they were created and today.

Crime fiction is one of the most popular literary genres and has been for more than a century. At the heart of almost all forms of mysteries—from the Golden Age puzzler to the contemporary police procedural, from American hardboiled fiction to the Japanese timetable mystery—is the investigator. He—or, increasingly, she—can be a private eye, a police officer, or a general busybody. But whatever forms these investigators take, they are the key element of crime fiction. Criminals and their crimes come and go, while our attention is captured by these fascinating characters who exist at the intersection of so many different literary and social roles. 100 Greatest Literary Detectives offers a selection of the most influential, important, and intriguing fictional sleuths—amateur or professional—from around the world. From Sherlock Holmes to Harry Hole, Kinsey Millhone to Kiyoshi Mitarai, the detectives profiled here give readers a broader picture of one of fiction’s most popular genres. Each entry summarizes the distinctive features of notable investigators and their approaches to crime, provides a brief outline of major features of their fictional careers, and makes a case for their importance based on literary-historical impact, novelty, uniqueness, aesthetic quality, or cultural resonance. The characters profiled here include Lew Archer, Martin Beck, Father Brown, Brother Cadfael, Adam Dalgliesh, Mike Hammer, Miss Jane Marple, Hercule Poirot, Ellery Queen, Ezekiel “Easy” Rawlins, Kay Scarpetta, Sam Spade, Phillip Trent, V. I. Warshawski, Lord Peter Wimsey, Nero Wolfe, and many others. Readers will find some of their favorite detectives here, learn more about their literary and cultural significance, and discover other great sleuths—old and new, local and international—in this engaging volume. 100 Greatest Literary Detectives provides a fascinating look into some of the most intriguing fictional characters of all time.

The book that follows contains one hundred Christmas themed movies and television specials that you should certainly consider watching during the festive season. The qualification for entry here is that each film should at least contain a Christmas scene or be set at Christmas. There are many perennial Christmas viewing staples like The Wizard of Oz and Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory but films like this don't qualify for our book because they aren't set at Christmas. Films like On Her Majesty's Secret Service and Night of the Hunter DO qualify though because they have references to Christmas. That's how our list works. You'll find a very eclectic mix in the book that follows. Beloved television cartoons, comedy specials, obscure horror films, art house movies, action classics, stop-motion animation, anthology segments, and even a few bizarre or cheesy guilty pleasures. The list that follows is truly a case of the sublime and the ridiculous at times. The connective tissue though is always Christmas. So, put another log on the fire, get yourself a mince pie, and prepare to dive into the 100 Greatest Christmas Movies!

Celebrate the best of Looney Tunes cartoons, just in time for Bugs Bunny’s 80th birthday! In a world of rascally rabbits, megalomaniacal ducks, and stuttering pigs, what defines greatness? This question was posed to thousands of cartoon fans, historians, and animators to create The 100 Greatest Looney Tunes Cartoons, the definitive Looney Tunes collection. Jerry Beck and the Cartoon Brew team of animation experts reveal the amusing anecdotes and secret origins behind such classics as “What’s Opera, Doc?,” “One Froggy Evening,” and “Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century.” Featuring more than 300 pieces of original art from private collectors and the Warner Bros. archives, The 100 Greatest Looney Tunes Cartoons settles the debate on the best of the best, and poses a new question: Is your favorite one of the greatest?

Examines the influences of international literary characters from classic and popular works, including Hamlet, Uncle Tom, Jean Valjean, Frankenstein, and Superman

"No other work has focused so sharply and revealed so clearly the vitality of Hemingway's time in Key West. Key West Hemingway shows that even as his Papa persona grew during the 1930s, Hemingway continued to generate a significant body of nuanced and complex (if also misunderstood) experimental prose. With keen scrutiny and brilliance, these fresh and readable essays rediscover and give us Hemingway's multifaceted American literary voices."--Linda Patterson Miller, editor of Letters from the Lost Generation "This impressive and cohesive collection of essays on Hemingway's Key West works and days puts into proper critical and biographical perspective one of the least understood yet most productive periods in his life. Husband, lover, father, son, fisherman, political activist, defender of the vets, essayist, and crafter of fiction--it's all here, close-up and wide-angle, the American Hemingway of 1928-1940, in all his facets, the rough diamond in the Florida sun."--Allen Josephs, author of Ritual and Sacrifice in the Corrida Conventional wisdom holds that Hemingway's Key West years were among his least productive, and many are dismissive of the works he produced during that time. In this collection, several leading Hemingway scholars focus on his overlooked short stories and essays, especially those written for Esquire from 1933 to 1936. They demonstrate how the island inspired some of his most vivid work and discuss how the "Hemingway industry" continues to endure. Kirk Curnutt is professor and chair of English at Troy University. Gail D. Sinclair is scholar in residence and executive director of the Winter Park Institute at Rollins College. Contributors: Patrick Hemingway | Carol Hemingway | Lawrence R. Broer | Gail D. Sinclair | Milton A. Cohen | Dan Monroe | Susan F. Beegel | Steve Paul | Mark P. Ott | Susan J. Wolfe | Mimi Reisel Gladstein | Michael J. Crowley | John J. Fenstermaker | E. Stone Shiftlet | Kirk Curnutt | James H. Meredith | Nicole Camastra | Russ Pottle

An extraordinary masterpiece written from personal experience, Middlemarch is a deep psychological observation of human nature that revolves around the issues of love, jealousy, and obligation. Eliot's feminist views are apparent through the novel: she stresses the fact that women should control their own lives.