A wide range of genres and styles is explored, from the gothicism of Charlotte and Emily Bronte to the postmodernism of Anthony Burgess. Fantasy fiction is represented by Lewis Carroll and J. R. R. tolkien and science fiction by Arthur C. Clarke and h. G. Wells. Among the detective and mystery writers featured are Agatha Christie, Arthur Conan Doyle, and P. D. James, and writers of satire include Jonathan Swift, tobias Smollett, and Martin Amis. Each essay begins with reference information about the authors and ends with an annotated bibliography.