Literal Imagination: Selected Essays.

One of the major literary critics of the later 20th century, Ian Watt was the author of The Rise of the Novel (1957) as well as numerous essays. This volume contains 15 of Watt's essays on a variety of topics, including the ironic voice, the prose style of Henry James, and the family in Gothic fiction. The volume concludes with Watt's reflections on his experience as a prisoner of the Japanese during World War II. Distributed by University of Washington Press. Annotation (c) Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)