Literature by Place

It's kind of crazy to what extent geography can inform an author's work. Jack London spent most of his life at sea, dog-sledding across Alaska, boxing and generally being an adventurous guy who would put today's REI crowd to shame. Would he have penned some of the greatest American novels otherwise? especially ones concerned primarily with man battling the elements for survival in both a mental and physical sense? Very probably not, which explains why Oscar Wilde didn't write about wolves and crazy ship captains.

No, Oscar Wilde wrote primarily about fops and society people parrying witticisms incessantly. That's not to say his work has no place in a serious consideration of literature—au contraire, The Picture of Dorian Grey is one of the finest novels written in English. It's just more evidence that if you're an author who lives in the Canadian mountains or the clubs of London, your writing will reflect that.

Physical terrain isn't the only consideration. Sartre wrote about people lolling about with no real sense of purpose except to drink wine and smoke cigarettes and look languorous because he lived in France in the 1940s. Friedrich Nietzsche had immense mustaches and espoused a form of nihilism because he was German. The Russians wrote impossibly long novels because they lived in Russia. And Chinua Achebe was almost entirely influenced by his African upbringing.

That's not to say no one can write well about a context they haven't experienced firsthand. I'm pretty sure Robert Heinlein never visited Mars, and even if he did it wasn't as his books describe; the same goes for Bradbury. And no, Roald Dahl was never lost in a delightfully (though at times, terrifyingly) absurd chocolate factory. Yet even with these examples, the authors conveyed essentially the attitudes of the countries they came from—Heinlein and Bradbury from the U.S., Dahl from the U.K.

Our Literature by Place subcategories are admittedly Anglo-centric. North American literature features, well, American literature, and you can be pretty sure British literature reflects the same system; everything else goes in world literature. We have plenty of non-American or -British literature, we just don't have much from any one place besides those two. At any rate, we hope these categories are helpful, and if they guide you toward one book you're looking for (or maybe one you didn't even know existed), they've done their job.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he's a husband and father who loves church, good food, and weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur. Read more of his reviews here.
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71 Items found Print
Active Filters: Christian Literature, Hardcover
August 1914
by Alexander Solzhenitsyn
from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
for Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$12.00 (2 in stock)
Ben-Hur
Reader's Digest World's Best Reading
by Lew Wallace
from Reader's Digest
for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
Ben-Hur
by Lew Wallace
from Heritage Press
Historical Fiction for 7th-10th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
City of God
by St. Augustine, translated by Marcus Dods
from Modern Library
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$26.00
Clouds of Witness
A Lord Peter Mystery, Book 2
by Dorothy Sayers
from ImPress Mystery
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Collected Poems of T. S. Eliot
by T. S. Eliot
1st edition from Harcourt
for 10th-Adult
in Poetry (Location: POET-GEN)
$25.00
Confessions of St. Augustine
by St. Augustine (translation by Philip Burton)
from Everyman's Library
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$17.60
Dear and Glorious Pysician
by Taylor Caldwell
from Doubleday & Company
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Defoe's Robinson Crusoe (abridged)
Eclectic English Classics
by Daniel Defoe, edited by Kate Stephens
from American Book Co.
for 10th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$14.00 (1 in stock)
Divine Comedy
by Dante Alighieri, translated by Allan Mandelbaum
from Everyman's Library
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$35.00
Endless Knot
Song of Albion #3
by Stephen R. Lawhead
Reprint from Thomas Nelson Publishers
Celtic Fantasy for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Endless Knot
by Stephen Lawhead
1st edition from Chariot Victor Publishing
for 9th-12th grade
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners
by John Bunyan
from Hendrickson Publishers
Autobiography for 10th-Adult
in Hendrickson Christian Classics (Location: XCL-DEV)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Have His Carcase
A Lord Peter Mystery, Book 7
by Dorothy L. Sayers
from Harper & Brothers
Murder Mystery for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Heretics
by G. K. Chesterton
from Hendrickson Publishers
Philosophy/Religion for 10th-Adult
in Hendrickson Christian Classics (Location: XCL-DEV)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
History of God's Remarkable Providences
by Increase Mather
from Back Home Industries
Historical Non-Fiction for 9th-Adult
in Colonial America (1690-1765) (Location: HISA-17COL)
Hobbit
by J. R. R. Tolkien
from Houghton Mifflin
Fantasy for 5th-9th grade
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$19.99
Holy War
by John Bunyan
from Christian Focus Publications
for 10th-Adult
in 17th Century Literature (Location: LIT4-17)
Imitation of Christ
by Thomas a Kempis
from Hendrickson Publishers
Devotional Material for 10th-Adult
in Hendrickson Christian Classics (Location: XCL-DEV)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
In His Steps
by Charles Monroe Sheldon
from Hendrickson Publishers
for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Institutes of the Christian Religion
by John Calvin, translated by Ford Lewis Battles, edited by John McNeill
from Westminster John Knox Press
Theology for 11th-Adult
in Renaissance & Reformation Literature (Location: LIT3-REN)
Institutes of the Christian Religion
by John Calvin, translated by Henry Beveridge
Revised from Hendrickson Publishers
for Adult
in Renaissance & Reformation Literature (Location: LIT3-REN)
$29.95
Institutes of the Christian Religion
by John Calvin, translated by Ford Lewis Battles, edited by John McNeill
from Banner of Truth Trust
Theology for 11th-Adult
in Renaissance & Reformation Literature (Location: LIT3-REN)
Institutes of the Christian Religion Volume 3
by John Calvin, translated by Henry Beveridge
Revised from Canon Press
for Adult
in Renaissance & Reformation Literature (Location: LIT3-REN)
$16.95
Ivanhoe
by Sir Walter Scott, Illustrated by Edward A. Wilson
from Heritage Press
Historical Fiction for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
Ivanhoe
Windermere Series 4
by Sir Walter Scott, illustrated by Milo Winter
from Rand McNally
Historical Fiction for 9th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Ivanhoe
Windermere Series 1
by Sir Walter Scott, illustrated by Milo Winter
from Rand McNally
Historical Fiction for 9th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Ivanhoe
Windermere Series 2
by Sir Walter Scott, illustrated by Milo Winter
from Rand McNally
Historical Fiction for 9th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Ivanhoe
Windermere Series 3
by Sir Walter Scott, illustrated by Milo Winter
from Rand McNally
Historical Fiction for 9th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Lady of the Lake
by Sir Walter Scott, edited with notes by William J. Rolfe
from Houghton Mifflin
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage Poetry (Location: VIN-POET)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Lady of the Lake
The Students' Series of English Classics
by Sir Walter Scott, edited with introduction and notes by James Arthur Tufts
from Leach, Shewell & Sanborn
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage Poetry (Location: VIN-POET)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Life and Adventures of Robinson Crusoe
Rainbow Classics
by Daniel Defoe, illustrated by Roger Duvoisin
from World Publishing Company
for 10th-Adult
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Life and Diary of David Brainerd
by David Brainerd
from Moody Press
Biography for 10th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$24.00 (1 in stock)
Life of Our Lord
by Charles Dickens
from Simon and Schuster
for 7th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$16.00
Lorna Doone
by R. D. Blackmore, illustrated by John Austen
from Heritage Press
for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
Murder Must Advertise
A Lord Peter Mystery, Book 8
by Dorothy Sayers
from Harper & Brothers
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich
by Alexander Solzhenitsyn
from Everyman's Library
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$25.00
Out of the Silent Planet
Space Trilogy Book 1
by C. S. Lewis
from Charles Scribner's Sons
Allegorical Science Fiction for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Paradise Lost
by John Milton, illustrated by Gustave Dore
from Flame Tree Collections
for 10th-Adult
in 17th Century Literature (Location: LIT4-17)
Paradise Lost and Other Poems
by John Milton
from Walter J. Black, Inc.
Formal Poetry for 10th-Adult
in Walter J. Black Classics Club (Location: VIN-LITWJB)
Paradise War
by Stephen Lawhead
1st edition from Chariot Victor Publishing
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Perelandra
Space Trilogy Book 2
by C. S. Lewis
from Charles Scribner's Sons
Allegorical Science Fiction for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Pilgrim's Progress
by John Bunyan, retold by Cheryl Ford
from Tyndale House
Christian Prose Epic/Allegory for 9th-Adult
in 17th Century Literature (Location: LIT4-17)
Pilgrim's Progress
by John Bunyan
from Pilgrim's Progress Publishing
for 10th-adult
in 17th Century Literature (Location: LIT4-17)
Pilgrim's Progress
by John Bunyan
from Hendrickson Publishers
Christian Prose Epic/Allegory for 10th-Adult
in Hendrickson Christian Classics (Location: XCL-DEV)
Pilgrim's Progress (Read & Reflect with the Classics)
by John Bunyan
from B&H Books
for 8th-12th grade
in 17th Century Literature (Location: LIT4-17)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Practical View of Christianity
by William Wilberforce
from Hendrickson Publishers
Religion/Philosophy for 11th-Adult
in Hendrickson Christian Classics (Location: XCL-DEV)
$12.95 $6.00 (2 in stock)
Praise of Folly
Walter J. Black Classics Club
by Desiderius Erasmus
from Princeton University Press
Religious Satire for 9th-Adult
in Walter J. Black Classics Club (Location: VIN-LITWJB)
Quo Vadis
by Henryk Sienkiewicz, translated by Jeremiah Curtin, introduction by Harold Lamb, illustrated by Salvatore Fiume
from Heritage Press
Historical Fiction for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
Robinson Crusoe
by Daniel Defoe, illustrated by Edward A. Wilson
from Heritage Press
for 8th-12th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$16.00 (1 in stock)
Robinson Crusoe
Classics Club
by Daniel Defoe, with illustrations and maps from early editions
from Walter J. Black, Inc.
for 8th-12th grade
in 18th Century Literature (Location: LIT5-18)
Robinson Crusoe
Windermere Readers #14
by Daniel Defoe, frontispiece by Milo Winter
from Rand McNally
for 10th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$10.00 (2 in stock)
Robinson Crusoe
Focus on the Family's Classic Collection
by Daniel Defoe, Introduction and Afterword by Joe L. Wheeler
from Focus on the Family
for 10th-Adult
in 18th Century Literature (Location: LIT5-18)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Robinson Crusoe
Windermere Series 1
by Daniel Defoe, frontispiece by Milo Winter
from Rand McNally
for 10th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Robinson Crusoe
Windermere Series 2
by Daniel Defoe, frontispiece by Milo Winter
from Rand McNally
for 10th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Robinson Crusoe
Windermere Series 3
by Daniel Defoe, frontispiece by Milo Winter
from Rand McNally
for 10th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Robinson Crusoe (abridged)
Illustrated Junior Library Series 2
by Daniel Defoe, illustrated by Lynd Ward
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 10th-Adult
in Illustrated Junior Library (Location: VIN-IJL)
Robinson Crusoe (abridged)
Illustrated Junior Library Series 3
by Daniel Defoe, illustrated by Lynd Ward
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 10th-Adult
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Saint's Everlasting Rest
by Richard Baxter
1st edition from Christian Focus Publications
for 11th-Adult
in Puritan Writings (Location: XCH-PUR)
She Stoops to Conquer
Merrill's English Texts
by Oliver Goldsmith, edited with an introduction and notes by Mabel A. Bessey
from Charles E. Merrill Company
Comedic Drama for 10th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Silmarillion
by J. R. R. Tolkien & Christopher Tolkien
Fantasy for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$75.00
Silver Hand
Song of Albion #2
by Stephen R. Lawhead
1st edition from Lion Publishing
Celtic Fantasy for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Sketches of Home
by Suzanne U. Rhodes
from Canon Press
for 10th-Adult
in Hospitality (Location: SS-HOS)
$12.00 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Sonnets from the Portuguese
by Elizabeth Barrett Browning
First Thus from Hallmark Publications
for 10th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
That Hideous Strength
Space Trilogy Book 3
by C. S. Lewis
from Charles Scribner's Sons
Allegorical Fantasy for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
The Robe
by Lloyd C. Douglas
for 10th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$15.00 (2 in stock)
Thirty-Nine Steps
by John Buchan
from Houghton Mifflin
Action Adventure for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Unnatural Death
A Lord Peter Mystery, Book 3
by Dorothy Sayers
from Harper & Brothers
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club
A Lord Peter Mystery, Book 4
by Dorothy Sayers
from Harper & Brothers
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Watership Down
by Richard Adams
Reissue from Atheneum
for 10th-Adult
1972 Carnegie Medal
in Scribner Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SCRIB)
$29.99
Whose Body?
A Lord Peter Mystery, Book 1
by Dorothy Sayers
1st edition from Harper & Brothers
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)