A Streetcar Named Desire. This updated edition is ideal to support students when studying and revising for the new A level English Literature exams.

The most comprehensive guide to studying and revising A Streetcar Named Desire at A Level or AS, the new York Notes Study Guide gives you everything you need to obtain a deeper understanding of Tennessee Williams's classic play about family, alienation and gender politics. Exploring aspects of Williams's unique and ground-breaking work including the play's genre, structure, characters, historical context and symbolism, this invaluable revision guide to A Streetcar Named Desire provides you with everything you need to achieve your very best examination grade. Students that attain the highest marks for their essays and answers to questions on A Streetcar Named Desire are likely to be able to put the play in its historical context and to show their understanding of the techniques and intentions of the playwright. You will need to show the examiner that you have a detailed knowledge of the background to Blanche's breakdown, and the role that music and images play in communicating ideas and tensions. You will also need to be able to draw on a range of contextual and critical details to enhance your own interpretation of the drama, and in the York Notes Study Guide you will find essential help with all of these.

Written by experienced A-level examiners and teachers who know exactly what students need to succeed, and edited by a chief examiner, Philip Allan Literature Guides (for A-level) are invaluable study companions with exam-specific advice to help you to get the grade you need. This full colour guide includes: - detailed scene summaries and sections on themes, characters, form, structure, language and contexts - a dedicated 'Working with the text' section on how to write about texts for coursework and controlled assessment and how to revise for exams - Taking it further boxes on related books, film adaptations and websites - Pause for thought boxes to get you thinking more widely about the text - Task boxes to test yourself on transformation, analysis, research and comparison activities - Top 10 quotes PLUS FREE REVISION RESOURCES at www.philipallan.co.uk/literatureguidesonline, including a glossary of literary terms and concepts, revision advice, sample essays with student answers and examiners comments, interactive questions, revision podcasts, flash cards and spider diagrams, links to unmissable websites, and answers to tasks set in the guide.

Succumb to one churchman's apocalyptic vision in this prophetic tale by the radical Nobel Laureate and author of Lord of the Flies, William Golding (recorded by Benedict Cumberbatch as an audiobook). There were three sorts of people. Those who ran, those who stayed, and those who were built in. Dean Jocelin has a vision: that God has chosen him to erect a great spire. His master builder fearfully advises against it, for the old cathedral was miraculously built without foundations. But Jocelin is obsessed with fashioning his prayer in stone. As his halo of hair grows wilder and his dark angel darker, the spire rises octagon upon octagon, pinnacle by pinnacle, watched over by the gargoyles - until the stone pillars shriek, the earth beneath creeps, and the spire's shadow falls like an axe on the medieval world below ... 'Astounding ... So recklessly beautiful, so sad and so strange ... Holds such a place in my soul that it's more or less a sacred text.' Sarah Perry 'A kind of miracle ... Genius.' Guardian ' Quite simply, a marvel.' NYRB ' Superb ... A classic.' Rebecca West 'A master fabulist .. An iconoclast.' John Fowles 'A visionary ... His masterwork [of] faith, folly and desperate desire ... Golding at his best.' Benjamin Myers

The notes trace the personal history of Tennessee Williams and examine how the events of his life contributed to the power of his play. They also discuss the play's stage directions, the dialogue and the symbolism. York Notes Advanced offer a fresh and accessible approach to English Literature. This market-leading series has been completely updated to meet the needs of today's A-level and AS level students.