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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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Active Filters: 20th & 21st Century Literature, 9th grade (Ages 14-15), Trade Paperback, New Books & Materials
And Then There Were None
by Agatha Christie
75th Anniversary from HarperCollins
Murder Mystery for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$16.14
Animal Farm
by George Orwell
from Plume Books
Utopian/Dystopian Literature for 6th-12th grade
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$13.60
Black Like Me
by John Howard Griffin & Robert Bonazzi
35th anniversary from Signet Classics
for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$8.49 $4.80 (1 in stock)
Body in the Library
A Miss Marple Mystery #2
by Agatha Christie
2022 Reissue from William Morrow & Company
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$16.14
Bridge of San Luis Rey
by Thornton Wilder
from HarperCollins
for 9th-Adult
1928 Pulitzer Prize Winner
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$13.59
Busman's Honeymoon (11)
A Lord Peter Mystery, Book 11
by Dorothy L. Sayers
Reprint from HarperCollins
Murder Mystery for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$16.14
C. S. Lewis: The Signature Classics Boxed Set
by C. S. Lewis
Box from HarperOne
for 9th-Adult
in Boxed Sets & Literature Packages (Location: FIC-BOX)
$120.00
Caribbean Mystery
A Miss Marple Mystery #9
by Agatha Christie
from William Morrow & Company
for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$13.59
Children of Hurin
by J. R. R. Tolkien
from Houghton Mifflin
Fantasy for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$14.44
Chosen
by Chaim Potok
from Simon and Schuster
Realistic Fiction for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$14.45
Clouds of Witness (2)
A Lord Peter Mystery, Book 2
by Dorothy Sayers
Reissue from HarperCollins
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$14.44
Code of the Woosters
by P. G. Wodehouse
from W. W. Norton and Co.
Humor for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$12.71
Complete Father Brown Stories
by G. K. Chesterton
from Wordsworth Classics
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$6.79
Complete Tolkien Companion
by J.R.R. Tolkien & J.E.A. Tyler
3rd edition from St. Martin's Griffin
Lord of the Rings Reference for 8th-Adult
in Lord of the Rings (Location: LIR-LOTR)
$27.00
Daughter of Time
by Josephine Tey
1st edition from Touchstone
for 7th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$13.60
Death Comes for the Archbishop
by Willa Cather
from Vintage Classics
Realistic Fiction for 9th-12th grade
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$13.60
Death on the Nile
A Hercule Poirot Mystery #17
by Agatha Christie
from HarperCollins
Mystery & Suspense for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$14.44
Dorothy L. Sayers: The Complete Stories
by Dorothy L. Sayers
from Harper & Row
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$16.99
Egg and I
by Betty MacDonald
from HarperCollins
Biography for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$13.59
Ella Minnow Pea: A Novel in Letters
by Mark Dunn
Reprint from Anchor Books
for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$12.71
Endless Knot
Song of Albion #3
by Stephen R. Lawhead
2nd edition from Thomas Nelson Publishers
Celtic Fantasy for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$13.59
Enter Jeeves
by P. G. Wodehouse
from Dover Publications
Humor for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$8.46
Experiment in Criticism
by C. S. Lewis
Reissue from Cambridge University
Literature Guide/Resource for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$16.99
Father Brown Stories Part II
by G. K. Chesterton
from Ignatius Press
Mystery for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$23.50
Fellowship of the Ring
Lord of the Rings Trilogy #1
by J. R. R. Tolkien
from Houghton Mifflin
Fantasy for 8th-12th grade
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$15.29
Five Red Herrings (6)
A Lord Peter Mystery, Book 6
by Dorothy Sayers
from HarperCollins
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$14.44
Four Loves
Reissue from HarperOne
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$15.29
Four Quartets
by T. S. Eliot
from Harcourt
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$8.49
Gaudy Night (10)
A Lord Peter Mystery, Book 10
by Dorothy L. Sayers
Reissue from HarperCollins
Murder Mystery for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$16.14
George MacDonald
by C. S. Lewis
from HarperCollins
Devotional Material for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$11.89
God in the Dock
by C. S. Lewis
from Eerdmans
Religion/Philosophy for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$15.30
Great Divorce
by C. S. Lewis
from HarperCollins
Allegory for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$15.29
Great Gatsby
by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Reissue from Charles Scribner's Sons
Realistic Fiction for 9th-12th grade
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$14.45
Heart of Darkness
by Joseph Conrad
from Modern Library
Realistic Modern Fiction for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$9.35
Hobbit
by J. R. R. Tolkien
from Houghton Mifflin
Fantasy for 5th-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$11.89
Hobbit
by J. R. R. Tolkien
from Houghton Mifflin
Fantasy for 5th-9th grade
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$15.29
Hobbit & Lord of the Rings - Softbound Boxed Set
by J. R. R. Tolkien
from Houghton Mifflin
Fantasy for 4th-12th grade
in Boxed Sets & Literature Packages (Location: FIC-BOX)
$61.20
Hood
The King Raven Trilogy Book 1
by Stephen R. Lawhead
First Edition from Thomas Nelson Publishers
for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$18.99
How Right You Are, Jeeves
by P. G. Wodehouse
from Touchstone
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$12.74
If The South Had Won The Civil War
by MacKinlay Kantor
from Forge
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$13.59
In Defense of Sanity: The Best Essays of G.K. Chesterton
by G. K. Chesterton
Standard print edition from Ignatius Press
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$16.96
Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell
by Susanna Clarke
from Bloomsbury Publishing
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$16.99
Leave it to Psmith
by P. G. Wodehouse
from W. W. Norton and Co.
Humor for 7th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$12.71
Letters to Children
by C. S. Lewis
from Charles Scribner's Sons
Autobiographical Letters for 3rd-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$13.60
Little Prince
by Antoine De Saint-Exupery
from Harvest House
Fantasy for 3rd-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$10.19 $6.00 (2 in stock)
Lobscouse and Spotted Dog
by Anne Grossman & Lisa Grossman Thomas
from W. W. Norton and Co.
Nautical Cookbook for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$16.11
Lord God Made Them All
by James Herriot
from St. Martin's Press
for 7th-Adult
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$15.29
Lord of Light
by Roger Zelazny
from HarperCollins
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$11.89
Lord Peter
by Dorothy Sayers
Reprint from Harper & Row
for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$16.14
Mein Kampf
by Adolf Hitler, translated by Michael Ford
from Elite Minds, Inc.
Autobiography for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$29.95
Mere Christianity
by C. S. Lewis
from HarperCollins
Religion/Philosophy for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$15.29
Miracle Worker
by William Gibson
from Charles Scribner's Sons
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$11.89
Miracles
by C. S. Lewis
from HarperCollins
Religion/Philosophy for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$14.44
Monster Calls
by Patrick Ness, illustrated by Jim Kay
Reprint from Candlewick Press
for 5th-Adult
2012 Carnegie Medal
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$10.20
Morbid Taste for Bones
Brother Cadfael
by Ellis Peters
Reissue from Mysterious Press
for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$12.74
Mutiny on the Bounty
by Charles Nordhoff & James Normal Hall
from Little, Brown & Company
Nautical Fiction for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$16.14
Narrative Poems
by C. S. Lewis
Reprint from HarperOne
Narrative Poetry for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$12.74
Never Sniff A Gift Fish
by Patrick F. McManus
from Henry Holt and Company
for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$15.29 $6.00 (1 in stock)
Nine Tailors (9)
A Lord Peter Mystery, Book 9
by Dorothy Sayers
from Harcourt
Murder Mystery for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$16.14
Of Other Worlds
by C. S. Lewis
Reissue from HarperOne
for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$11.89
Old Man and the Sea
by Ernest Hemingway
from Charles Scribner's Sons
Realistic Fiction for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$11.89
One Corpse Too Many
Brother Cadfael
by Ellis Peters
Reissue from Mysterious Press
for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$12.74
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)
$14.45
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)
$14.44
Phantom of the Opera
by Gaston Leroux
from Bantam Books
Mystery/Horror for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$5.06
Pilgrim's Regress
by C. S. Lewis
Reissue from Eerdmans
Allegory for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$15.29
Place of the Lion
by Charles Williams
from Regent College
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$16.99
Poems
by C. S. Lewis
Reissue from HarperOne
Lyrical Poetry for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$11.89
Problem of Pain
by C. S. Lewis
from HarperCollins
Religion/Philosophy for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$14.44
Rabble in Arms
by Kenneth Roberts
from Down East Books
for 7th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$16.11
Red House Mystery
by A. A. Milne
from Bob Jones University Press
Mystery/Suspense for 7th-10th grade
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$5.94
Reflections on the Psalms
by C. S. Lewis
Reprint from HarperOne
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$13.59
Return of the King
Lord of the Rings Trilogy #3
by J. R. R. Tolkien
from Houghton Mifflin
Fantasy for 8th-12th grade
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$15.29
Riders of the Purple Sage
by Zane Grey
from Dover Publications
Westerns for 8th-Adult
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$5.10
Right Ho, Jeeves
by P. G. Wodehouse
Reprint from W. W. Norton and Co.
Humor for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$11.86
Scarlet
The King Raven Trilogy Book 2
by Stephen R. Lawhead
from Thomas Nelson Publishers
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$18.99
Screwtape Letters
by C. S. Lewis
from HarperCollins
Allegory/Religion for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$15.29
Sea of Words
by Dean King, John B. Hattendorf & J. Worth Estes
3rd edition from Henry Holt and Company
Nautical Dictionary for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$14.45 $8.80 (1 in stock)
Sea-Hawk
by Rafael Sabatini
from W. W. Norton and Co.
Historical Romance for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$20.36
Second Book of the Dun Cow: Lamentations
by Walter Wangerin
from Diversion Publications
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$11.89
Shades of Grey: A Novel
by Jasper Fforde
Reprint from Penguin Putnam
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$15.30
Silmarillion
by J. R. R. Tolkien & Christopher Tolkien
from Houghton Mifflin
Fantasy for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$15.29
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight / Pearl / Sir Orfeo
by Anonymous, J. R. R. Tolkien (Translator)
from Mariner Books
Medieval Fairy Tale/Poetry for 8th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$14.44
Sophie's World
by Jostein Gaarder
from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Fantasy/Philosophy for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$11.90
Starship Troopers
by Robert Heinlein
from ACE Publishing
Science Fiction for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$15.30 $7.60 (1 in stock)
Strong Poison (5)
A Lord Peter Mystery, Book 5
by Dorothy L. Sayers
Reissue from HarperCollins
Murder Mystery for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$15.29
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)
$15.29
The Pearl
by John Steinbeck
from Penguin Putnam
Realistic Fiction for 9th-12th grade
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$10.20
The Robe
by Lloyd Douglas
from Houghton Mifflin
Historical Fiction for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$16.99
Thurber Carnival
by James Thurber
from Harper Perennial
for 7th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$14.44
To Kill a Mockingbird
by Harper Lee
from Harper Perennial
Realistic Fiction for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$14.44
True Grit
by Charles Portis
Mti Rep from Overlook Press
Western for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$14.45
Tuck
The King Raven Trilogy Book 3
by Stephen R. Lawhead
Reprint from Thomas Nelson Publishers
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$16.14
Two Towers
Lord of the Rings Trilogy #2
by J. R. R. Tolkien
from Houghton Mifflin
Fantasy for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$15.29
Unnatural Death (3)
A Lord Peter Mystery, Book 3
by Dorothy Sayers
Reprint from HarperCollins
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$16.14
Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club (4)
A Lord Peter Mystery, Book 4
by Dorothy Sayers
Reissue from HarperCollins
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$14.44
Up From Slavery
Copper Lodge Library
by Booker T. Washington, annotated by Stephanie B. Meter
from Classical Conversations
Autobiography for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$11.95
Watership Down
by Richard Adams
from Charles Scribner's Sons
Animal Fiction for 7th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$16.99
Welcome Shore
by Suzanne Underwood Rhodes
from Canon Press
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$10.20
Whose Body? (1)
A Lord Peter Mystery, Book 1
by Dorothy Sayers
Reprint from HarperCollins
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$14.44
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