{"product_id":"how-to-be-well-read-a-guide-to-500-great-novels-and-a-handful-of-literary-curiosities-9781529157291","title":"How to Be Well Read: A Guide to 500 Great Novels and a Handful of Literary Curiosities","description":"\u003cb\u003eA guide to the best novels ever written, and why they matter\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e In the course of over 500 wittily informative pieces, John Sutherland gives us his own take on the most rewarding, most remarkable and, on occasion, most shamelessly enjoyable works of fiction ever written. It is the perfect reading list for every literary aficionado. An appreciation of Apuleius's \u003ci\u003eThe Golden Ass\u003c\/i\u003e - arguably the first-ever novel - is followed by a consideration of Ian Fleming's \u003ci\u003eGoldfinger\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003ci\u003e The Handmaid's Tale\u003c\/i\u003e is followed by \u003ci\u003eHangover Square\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003e Jane Eyre\u003c\/i\u003e by\u003ci\u003e Jaws\u003c\/i\u003e. There are imposing Victorian novels, entertaining contemporary thrillers and everything in between, from dystopian works to romance. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e The flavor of each is brilliantly evoked and its merits or downfalls assessed. At the same time, Sutherland shows how the work fits into a broader context - whether that of the author's life or of other books from the same genre or period. And he offers endless snippets of intriguing information: did you know, for example, that the Nazis banned \u003ci\u003eBambi\u003c\/i\u003e or that William Faulkner wrote\u003ci\u003e As I Lay Dying \u003c\/i\u003eon an upturned wheelbarrow; that Voltaire completed \u003ci\u003eCandide\u003c\/i\u003e in three days, or that Anna Sewell was paid  20 for\u003ci\u003e Black Beauty\u003c\/i\u003e? \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Both encyclopedic and entertaining, this is a wonderful dip-in book, whose opinions will inform and, on occasion, infuriate.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eJohn Sutherland \u003c\/b\u003eis Lord Northcliffe Professor Emeritus of Modern English Literature at University College London and previously taught at the California Institute of Technology. He writes regularly for the\u003ci\u003e Guardian\u003c\/i\u003e, the \u003ci\u003eTimes\u003c\/i\u003e and the \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e, and is the author of many books including \u003ci\u003eCuriosities of Literature, Is Henry V a War Criminal? \u003c\/i\u003e(with Cedric Watts), biographies of Walter Scott, Stephen Spender and the Victorian elephant Jumbo, and \u003ci\u003eThe Boy Who Loved Books\u003c\/i\u003e, a memoir.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Penguin Group","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50497000374546,"sku":"9781529157291","price":15.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_fdb71c43-3bd6-4475-a155-f3c8fe8b99bd.jpg?v=1730704510","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/how-to-be-well-read-a-guide-to-500-great-novels-and-a-handful-of-literary-curiosities-9781529157291","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}