The Literary Detective (Paperback)

It may seem obvious - but it is not. How to read a book, a novel? How to increase your joy at reading an old or a new work? How to inject new vitality into an old and, perhaps, boring activity? Is there a method or a technique in reading a novel which can illuminate the meanings behind the story?

The Literary Detective answers these questions in a bold, imaginative and accessible manner. Reading is similar to a treasure hunt. You set out, you collect clues and you hope to discover a treasure or solve a mystery. How does it work? Great detectives start out with an open mind, unaware of what lies ahead of them. They investigate, they examine the evidence, they collect the clues, they ask questions, they think things through, until they solve the mystery.

Glen Hammond argues that anybody - a casual reader, a student, or a teacher - can learn the techniques of this new kind of literary detection.