Books like Mazes by Hugh Kenner

In 19th‑century rural France, country doctor Charles Bovary marries the ambitious Emma, whose longing for romance and luxury drives her into affairs and reckless spending, spiraling her into ruin and social disgrace.

Joseph Campbell’s classic study of myth examines how recurring hero narratives shape human experience and inspire modern storytelling, from ancient folklore to contemporary cinema.

Richard Tarnas examines how planetary cycles align with major historical events and archetypal human patterns, linking Western thought, astrology, and consciousness in a comprehensive historical-philosophical analysis.

In the 1962 Massey Lectures, Northrop Frye writes: "What good is the study of literature? Does it help us to think more clearly or feel more sensitively or live a better life than we would without it? What is the function of the teacher and scholar or the person who calls himself, as I do, a literary critic? What difference does the study of literature make in our social or political or religious attitude? In my early days, I thought very little about such questions, not because I had any of the answers but because I assumed that anybody who asked them was naive. I think now that the simplest questions are not only the hardest to answer but the most important to ask..." With its relaxed, informal and frequently humorous style of presentation, The Educated Imagination is considered a more approachable introduction to Frye's work.