A Little History of Literature (Little Histories) Paperback – Illustrated, September 30, 2014

This is a very entertaining book that takes readers on a smart, well-researched tour of the great works of literature. All the old favorites are there along with some surprising new works that I'd never heard of and am now anxious to read.

He might as well have called it A Little History of Western Literature given his scant mention of any historical development in the eastern front save for the current writers Mo Yan from China who is a Nobel Laureate and Haruki Murakami from Japan who has a global following, both of which were only mentioned in passing. Substitute English for Western and the book becomes even more accurate, because after quick brushstrokes on the precursors of literature in the west, dedicating 4 out of 40 chapters on myths, epics and tragedies from various old world superpowers, he formally begins to follow the trail of literature in English beginning with Chaucer's Cantebury Tales.These gripes aside, this 'little history' will satisfy lovers of literature like me who are interested to follow the treasure trail of developments in the tools (printing and publishing), authorship (copyright laws), milieus (romanticism, modernism, post modernism, dystopian, absurdist, existentialist, metaphysical, magic realism, etc), types (novels, poetry, plays, criticism) and trends (reading groups, bestsellers, ebooks, adaptations, literary prizes, etc) that lead us to the book that we have in our hands.Easter eggs such as discovering that italics is so named because the first designer of the slanted type is from Italy, that font is so called because these are the receptacles of shapes where molten lead is poured to create the type, and that these fonts are stored in cases where the capital letters are found in the upper case, all add to the fun of reading this book. Many other tidbits such as these are inconspicuously found all over, and discovering them adds to the fun of reading.Knowing the tumultuous and multi-branched scope of literature's historical development in this book gave me greater appreciation of all the books I've read and will read, and for that alone I cherish this book and highly recommend its reading.

Having read Sutherland's Lives of the Novelists, and listened to his marvelous lecture series on British Literature (via Audible) I knew I was in for a treat. And this new book did not disappoint, being (as it was) written in Professor Sutherland's distinctive style.I was never bored; rather, I was inspired to read MORE. I can genuinely recommend this book to anyone who needs a good reason to return to Literature. And for those who never left it, Sutherland will help you to get even more out of reading.

John Sutherland's books are always hugely enjoyable, with lots of informative tidbits scattered throughout. This is a little more programmatic than others of his I've read (his series on 19th Century novels -- Is Heathcliff a Murderer? Can Jane Eyre Be Happy? and their successors -- is not to be missed), but always thoughtful with interesting perspectives on his literary subjects.

Very interesting and entertaining and informative. Puts things in perspective. Fun to read.

A very interesting and useful book. A good coverage of the subject in a not too heavy manner. Good basis for a reading programme.

I read this little history of literature in three or four nights. The author is pleasant enough, and he covers a lot of material. Neither he nor the book is "deep." The book covers too much to be deep, but it is entertaining and non-threatening. It didn't rock my world, but it was pleasant enough as a reading experience.

Loved this book! Amazingly compact but full of flavor and information, this book makes you love literature that much more. Wonderfully organized, easy to understand. A quick read. John Sutherland is a wonderful historian and writer.