The Literal Imagination Selected Essays Author:Ian P. Watt This volume brings together previously uncollected essays by Ian Watt, one of the major literary critics of the later twentieth century, famed equally for his distinguished work on Joseph Conrad and for his pioneering investigation into the genesis of English prose fiction. In addition to the authorís reassessment of The Rise of the Novel -- a w... more »ork that remains definitive more than forty years after its initial publication -- the essays in The Literary Imagination include studies of Augustan literature, Gothic and comic fiction, the prose style of Henry James, and the humanistic imagination of George Orwell. A final essay contains Wattís reflections on his experience as a prisoner of the Japanese during World War II. These essays -- some originally lectures or talks -- make marvelous reading, resplendent with Wattís brilliance of intellect and wit.« less