Ordinary life improves when empire falls.

Jonathan Swift was one of the most secretive men who ever lived, the Howard Hughes of 18th-century Britain. Given how well-known his name is today, it comes as a surprise to learn that most of his writings were initially published anonymously.

Huckleberry Finn shows that a nation devoted to fresh starts will also invite false starts and upstarts.

The European roots of Chinua Achebe’s postcolonial classic.

A review of Charles Dickens, by Michael Slater

The small screen's new sophistication.

Shakespeare tried to understand the world, and now the world tries to understand him.

Shakespeare's ability to provoke a variety of thoughtful responses is one measure of his enduring greatness.

If you really want to learn something about Shakespeare, go back to the plays.

Watts attempts to establish common ground between economists and literary critics.

Hamlet in Purgatory in many respects serves as the culmination of Greenblatt's long-term project as a cultural historian.