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Perry Meisel's book, "Criticism After Theory from Shakespeare to Virginia Woolf," challenges the notion that theory is dead and instead argues for the continued relevance and importance of theoretical inquiries in literary criticism. Meisel explores the influence of Saussure's structuralism on various approaches such as new historicism, postcolonialism, gender studies, environmental studies, and archival studies. The book is divided into three sections, with the first focusing on theoretical exploration, the second on practical studies in literature, and the third on psychoanalytic studies. Meisel uses examples from canonical figures like Shakespeare, Milton, Lawrence, and Woolf to support his arguments. Overall, the book offers a comprehensive analysis of the relationship between theory and literary criticism, emphasizing the need for a nuanced understanding of the legacy of theory. [Extracted from the article]

In the book review titled "Review: Limited Access: Transport Metaphors and Realism in the British Novel, 1740–1860, by Kyoko Takanashi," the reviewer discusses Kyoko Takanashi's exploration of the relationship between transport metaphors and realism in British novels during the 18th and 19th centuries. Takanashi argues that early realist novels used tropes of transport to set limits on readers' access to fictional landscapes, such as class, history, national politics, urbanization, and media cultures. The reviewer praises Takanashi's examination of how transport infrastructures and tropes intersected with shifting media landscapes to shape the realist novel, and highlights the chapters dedicated to Henry Fielding, Laurence Sterne, Tobias Smollett, Sir Walter Scott, Charles Dickens, William Makepeace Thackeray, and George Eliot as particularly insightful. While the reviewer acknowledges some unevenness in the book's focus, they ultimately conclude that Takanashi's study opens up new avenues for understanding the ways in which transport tropes and cultures influenced readers' engagement with fiction during this time period. [Extracted from the article]

"Strolling in the Ruins: The Caribbean's Non-sovereign Modern in the Early Twentieth Century" by Faith Smith explores the period between 1895 and 1914 in Jamaica and Trinidad. The book challenges the conventional view that this period produced insignificant writing, instead arguing that it deserves closer examination. Smith reframes the literary and cultural history of the time, using newspaper archives and exploring the perspectives of Caribbean subjects. The book raises questions about inheritance, movement, policing, surveillance, and intimacy, and offers insightful readings of works by authors such as W. Adolphe Roberts, Herbert G. de Lisser, Stephen Cobham, and Claude McKay. Overall, the book encourages readers to slow down, take their time, and explore new perspectives. [Extracted from the article]