The present book contains a varied selection of essays ventured upon as exercises in critical evaluation of texts that are relevant in the existent literary context. These essays are certainly not a random pick for each of the works chosen for analysis, whatever be the genre of writing, represents the literature in English produced by the native writers of a particular country. The two major literatures in English are indisputably those of England and America but there are many other countries like Africa, Australia, India and Pakistan whose authors chose to write in English because they felt that English, despite being an alien language, would better verbalize their creative urge and lend itself to an exploration of the immense possibilities therein. Most of the authors taken up for study in this book are those who belong to the fraternity of Indian English writers, namely Mulk Raj Anand, Shashi Deshpande, Salman Rushdie, Vikram Seth, Mahesh Dattani and Manju Kapur. Catering to a revival of interest in the partition of India as a theme in fiction are two essays which deal with the issue. Other write-ups are on works (some in translation) by native writers of hitherto marginalized countries that have now chosen to aggressively assert themselves through their respective literatures. The book, comprehensive and rich in its contents, is highly informative and would prove an asset to those interested in the diverse manifestations of literature in English. It would be of particular appeal to those who wish to explore the works of Indian English writers of repute.

Table of Contents:
1. Mulk Raj Anand and The Human Predicament; 2. Indian English Fiction: The Theme of India’s Partition; 3. Tradition and Modernity in Shashi Deshpande’s The Dark Holds No Terrors and That Long Silence; 4. Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children: A Quest for Identity; 5. Vikram Seth’s The Golden Gate: Celebrating the Californian Way of Life; 6. Family and Society as Operative Determinants in Manju Kapur’s Difficult Daughters; 7. Mahesh Dattani’s Final Solutions and Other Plays: “A Living Dramatic Experience”; 8. Amrita Pritam’s Pinjar: Gender as A Prescriptive Factor in Life; 9. Bapsi Sidhwa’s Ice Candy Man: A Reassessment; 10. Chinua Achebe: A Novelist at “The Crossroads of Cultures” (With Special Reference to ‘Things Fall Apart’); 1. The Trial of Dedan Kimathi: A Breakaway From Tradition; 12. Autobiography as Strategy of Resistance and Empowerment: Sally Morgan’s My Place; 13. Dario Fo’s Accidental Death of An Anarchist: A Drama of “Emergent Meaning”; 14. Doris Lessing’s The Golden Notebook: “A Wordless Statement”; 15. Shelley As Myth-Maker: Aspects of Some Shorter Nature Lyrics; 16. Tennyson’s Maud: “A Little Hamlet”; 17. Browning’s Dramatic Monologues as Experience Explored; 18. Poe: A Psychological Approach