Readership: Lovers of fiction. English literature students (and their lecturers), also cultural historians.
John Sutherland, Emeritus Lord Northcliffe Professor of Modern English Literature, University College, London
"His amiable trawl through the history of popular books is frequently entertaining" - Scott Pack, The Times
"breezily entertaining" - Kevin Power, Irish Times (Dublin)
"Sutherland effectively challenges the assumption that a book's commercial success somehow invalidates either its author's integrity or the critical acumen of its readers. Instead we are offered a plausible vision of the blockbuster or the bodice-ripper as narrative in its purest form." - Jonathan Keates, TLS