Literature

Liang Xinsheng removed from deputy chair post after writing ‘radical opinions’ that had a ‘bad social influence’

Deborah Longworth salutes the range and reach in Everything to Nothing

A poet and leading 18th-century literary scholar has died

Ruth Richardson on the capital city’s great mists and smogs that have inspired, harmed and killed

Fred Inglis on the innumerable shows and figures from 50 years of popular culture

Writers meet musicians in the University of St Andrews’ new series of experimental conversations

The question of whether fictional representations of the past can offer as much insight as scholarly histories is tackled with verve, says Philip Kemp

Lisa Hopkins on a defining time in the Bard’s career

UK maintains its strength in the arts while US loses ground

Tricks of presenting a successful academic conference paper are revealed by co-author of a popular public speaking guide

Advice from a guide prepared by two academics will help you to impress a conference audience

The University of Cambridge is the top UK institution for hosting both international and British students who go on to win Nobel prizes, finds British Council

Danielle Sands on a collection of previously unpublished material that fails to capture the ‘flair and flight’ of the French philosopher at his best

Peter J. Smith on a study of the history of drama in penal settings

One woman’s discovery of love letters belonging to her great-aunt has yielded a portrait capturing the It girl’s restless effervescence, says Deborah Longworth

Willy Maley delights in a study casting light on the lexicographer’s life as both drudge and judge

The theme of vision is central to an examination of the German writer’s oeuvre, says Simon Ward

Major/minor course designed to improve graduates’ employment prospects

Academics teaching the subject at university say it needs a place on school curricula as well

Studies on urine, pain thresholds and unboiled eggs honoured in annual awards for improbable research. John Elmes takes a look

Peter J. Smith on what books collections tell us about the collector

Laurence Coupe on the narratives that lead to re-enchantment with our natural environment

Event at the University of Hertfordshire breaks new ground in examining the undead

We talk to the AHRC chief executive as he prepares to move to the School of Advanced Study

Cultural differences can complicate relationships between international doctoral students and supervisors, Jack Grove hears

Forgotten correspondence is vividly brought to life in a study of cultural links, says Henriette Louwerse

Barbara Graziosi on an ambitious and well-researched study

The real Lord Byron was ‘a flabby, effeminate man who liked wigs’, finds Jane Darcy

Teachers have selected 100 books pupils should read before leaving secondary school. What do they tell us? Robert Eaglestone takes a look

Study finds that students choose to major in subjects that are ‘more challenging’ in bad economic times

Reaction to TES list – as chosen by teachers – is mixed

Analysis by admissions service finds medicine and accountancy students emphasise career aspirations

A new series of short films reveals the often unexpected books that have inspired scientists at Cambridge.

A well-known author and academic has suggested her students should “go back to the womb” if they can’t cope with the kind of disturbing material literature has always dealt with

Discover the Tuscan metropolis in a study suffused with all the vitality of the Palio, says Philip Cooke

The Victorians found much profit in the grave, and Boz was there to document its blackly comic excess, writes Ruth Richardson

Richard Larschan on an examination of the conflicting ‘emotional styles’ of two camps of poets of the 1950s and 1960s

Elizabeth Greene applauds this compelling examination of the American poet’s achievement

The first act in an entertaining study of gifted stage performers is the most powerful, says Lisa Hopkins

This guide gets right to the heart of the virtues that make a scholar, Robert Eaglestone discovers

Laurence Coupe on an ambitious and challenging exploration of the ecology of the past

Jane Stabler on a fascinating account of the aristocrat-poet’s fame

Peter J. Smith on the literary giants who have drawn inspiration from their nocturnal perambulations

A gripping pilgrimage towards a seminal period in the genesis of a literary classic, says Elizabeth Scala

Sandeep Parmar on an elaborate account of one moment in Modernism

Fred Inglis on a collection of articles that touches on, but should have focused on, the corruption of universities by corporate forces

Gary Day extols a fascinating study of Modern Library books

Shakespeare’s use of legal rhetoric is the force behind much of his drama, says Willy Maley

Richard Bosworth on the revolutionaries, Romantics, tourists and Fascists that have shaped the Italian city

Sharon Wheeler applauds a rigorous and passionate appraisal of Conan Doyle’s literary contemporaries

Shahidha Bari on a collection of essays concentrating on four American writers

Untangling our emotional commitment to books is a complicated affair, says Deborah Rogers

Giulia Miller writes on the weird backstory to a female superhero, from women’s suffrage to lie detectors

A potent study revisits familiar territory and gives new insights into tales for children, finds Shahidha Bari

Clare Brant on a form of writing that offers a unique insight into the private lives of women

Despite a quibble over guides, a personal tour of classical literature delights Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones

Tallis enters a crowded arena when he asks what the arts mean nowadays, says Fred Inglis

Robert Eaglestone on the literary reflections of one of France’s great post-war littérateurs

Shahidha Bari on a notorious meeting of three of the great Romantics and the almost-forgotten figure who brought them together

Rachel Bowlby on a modern style guide that aims to teach good writing in a non-prescriptivist way