Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale"

Description

This is an up-to-date readers guide to Atwood's contemporary classic covering contexts, themes and criticism. Margaret Atwood's popular dystopian novel "A Handmaid's Tale", engages the reader with a broad range of issues relating to power, gender and religious politics. This guide provides an overview of the key critical debates and interpretations of the novel and encourages you to engage with key questions and readings in your reading of the text. It includes discussion of key themes and concepts including: representation of women's roles, gender, sexuality and power; language, style and form; dystopias and genre fictions; and, power, control and religious fundamentalism. Combining helpful guidance on reading Atwood's text with overviews of significant stylistic and thematic issues and an introduction to criticism, this is an ideal companion to reading and studying "A Handmaid's Tale". "Continuum Reader's Guides" are clear, concise and accessible introductions to key texts in literature and philosophy.

Author description

Gina Wisker is Head of the Centre for Learning and Teaching and Professor of Higher Education and Contemporary Literature at the University of Brighton where she teaches literature and manages educational development. Gina researches and writes on postcolonial, contemporary and genre fictions and specialises in contemporary women's writing.

Table of contents

Acknowledgements; Quotations and Abbreviations; 1. Context; 2. Overview of Themes; 3. Reading The Handmaid's Tale; 4. Reception and Influence; 5. Guide to Further Reading; Index.