This is a book about English Studies, aimed at all those who are taking English degrees, or teaching them. It gives a detailed account of the core of the discipline - the close reading of texts, contexts, and intertexts . It also treats some of the major current issues within the discipline, such as the relationship between literature and history. It works through a series of fully developed applied examples, rather than by abstract exposition and exhortation. It is a reflective overview which constanlty exemplifies the practice it reflects upon.